The Effect of Plasmapheresis on Post-Thymectomy Ocular Dysfunction

Abstract

Five myasthenia gravis patients with post-thymectomy residual ocular signs were treated with plasmapheresis. Despite a significant reduction in AChR antibody titer, there was no clinical improvement. Subsequently, there was a dramatic response to prednisone. The AChR antibody titer did not correlate with the clinical state of the individual patient. It is suggested that plasmapheresis may operate by removing a thymic factor and that prednisone acts by a different mechanism. © 1981, Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation. All rights reserved.