[Acute systemic lupus erythematosus after thymectomy for myasthenia. Sequential study of lymphocyte subpopulations]

A 35 year-old woman developed severe systemic lupus erythematosus 9 years after thymectomy for myasthenia gravis. "Seric Thymic Factor" (STF) was low; T helpers subset, T helpers/T suppressors ratio and to a lesser extent T suppressors subset were decreased. Suppressor cell function investigated by Concanavaline A lymphocyte reactivity was low. Under cyclophosphamide, plasmapheresis and steroids all clinical and biological symptoms improved but STF remained low; T helpers, T suppressors subsets and T helpers/T suppressors ratio increased but did not reach the normal range. Statistical and immunological arguments suggest that the association between systemic lupus erythematosus and myasthenia gravis did not occur only by chance. Moreover, thymectomy might have played a role by decreasing the number and function of some subpopulations of lymphocytes.