Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with myasthenia gravis worsened after thymectomy surgery
By Nagata, Nao et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2017·Shikoku Veterinary Medical Center, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Temporal deterioration of neurological symptoms and increase of serum acetylcholine receptor antibody levels after thymectomy: a case report of a cat with myasthenia gravis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old male cat with myasthenia gravis (a condition that causes muscle weakness) underwent surgery to remove a thymoma (a type of tumor). After the surgery, his neurological symptoms got worse, so the vet started him on a medication to help manage the symptoms. Despite the surgery, the cat's antibody levels continued to rise for 90 days, indicating that the myasthenia gravis symptoms were not fully resolved. This case highlights that while thymectomy can help, additional medication is often necessary to control symptoms after surgery.
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Abstract
Neurological signs and serum acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR-Ab) levels before and after thymectomy were monitored in a 6-year-old male cat with acquired Myasthenia Gravis (MG) as a paraneoplastic syndrome of thymoma. Soon after surgery, the neurological symptoms relapsed, and the cholinesterase inhibitor was administered to control them. The AChR-Ab levels increased postoperatively until 90 days after surgery. This is the first report on long term measurements of serum AChR-Ab levels in a cat with MG. Although thymectomy is valuable for the removal of thymoma, it may not resolve MG symptoms, neurological signs and serum AChR-Ab levels, without medication early after surgery. Also, this case report indicates that the AChR-Ab level might be a guide to detect a deterioration of MG symptoms.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27593682/