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Antiacetylcholine receptor antibody and its relationship to HLA type in asymptomatic siblings of a patient with myasthenia gravis

From the Neurology Service, San Diego Veterans Administration Medical Center and the Neurosciences and Surgery Departments, University of California, San Diego (Dr. Seybold), and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies (Dr. Lindstrom), San Diego, CA.

Antibodies to acetylcholine receptors (AChR-ab) were detected in a patient with myasthenia gravis (MG) and at much lower levels in her asymptomatic fraternal twin and one other asymptomatic sibling. These three carried the HLA-B8 allele, as did four other family members. In a previous study, we observed no AChR-ab in 175 non-MG patients. The occurrence of AChR-ab in 3 of 12 siblings suggests that all were affected by an unidentified pathologic factor acting on a favorable genetic background.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Seybold, San Diego VA Medical Center, V-127, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161.

This work was supported in part by the Los Angeles Chapter of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation, Veterans Administration, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and National Institutes of Health (Grant No. NS11323).

Accepted for publication July 29, 1980.