MYA Thymus Aesku: The role of the thymus in myasthenia gravis

Study Description:
Although the association between expansion or a tumor of the thymus and autoimmune myasthenia gravis has already been known for a long time, the cause and effect of this link continues to be unexplained. With this study, we were hoping for new findings on the occurrence of myasthenia and the autoantibody formation associated with it. Moreover, we wanted to investigate the effects of a removal of the thymus upon the immune system in the context of myasthenia gravis. For this purpose, we were examining myasthenia patients with and without thymus tumor and thymus tumor patients without myasthenia before and after operative removal of the thymus gland.

Principle Investigator: Dr. Siegfried Kohler (WG Cerebrovascular Diseases, NCRC, Neurology CCM)

Course of the Study: 07/2008 - 12/2012

Publications:
Kohler, S., T. Keil, T. Alexander, A. Thiel, M. Swierzy, M. Ismail, J. C. Ruckert, and A. Meisel. "Altered Naive Cd4(+) T Cell Homeostasis in Myasthenia Gravis and Thymoma Patients." J Neuroimmunol 327 (Feb 15 2019): 10-14.Link

Kohler, S., T. O. P. Keil, S. Hoffmann, M. Swierzy, M. Ismail, J. C. Ruckert, T. Alexander, and A. Meisel. "Cd4(+) Foxp3(+) T Regulatory Cell Subsets in Myasthenia Gravis Patients." Clin Immunol 179 (Jun 2017): 40-46.Link

Kohler, S., T. O. Keil, M. Swierzy, S. Hoffmann, H. Schaffert, M. Ismail, J. C. Ruckert, T. Alexander, F. Hiepe, C. Gross, A. Thiel, and A. Meisel. "Disturbed B Cell Subpopulations and Increased Plasma Cells in Myasthenia Gravis Patients." J Neuroimmunol 264, no. 1-2 (Nov 15 2013): 114-9.Link