Myasthenia Gravis, Thymoma and Cryptococcal Meningitis

Abstract

DURING the past few years two lines of investigation have suggested that immunologic abnormalities may be present in patients with myasthenia gravis.Work in several laboratories indicates that the thymus controls the production of immunologically competent cells in the newborn period, either directly or by a humoral process1 2 3 4 5; thymectomy in neonatal animals may result in a variety of immunologic deficiencies.1 , 2 The thymus may also continue to function in adult animals.1 , 6 7 8 These studies are relevant to theories of the pathogenesis of myasthenia, because thymomas and other histologic abnormalities of the thymus are present in more than half the myasthenic patients. . . .