MYASTHENIA-GRAVIS AND THYMIC HODGKINS-DISEASE ASSOCIATED IN ONE PATIENT WITH FAMILIAL LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS

A 38-year-old man affected with generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) was submitted to thymectomy. At surgery thymic Hodgkin's disease (granulo matous thymoma) and an area of thymic hyperplasia were found. Subseque ntly, after treatment with anticholinesterase and corticosteroids, the patient achieved clinical remission. The development of MG in this pa tient could be related to the presence of thymic hyperplasia, rather t han to the granulomatous thymoma. Family history revealed that a broth er of the patient was affected by non-Hodgkin T-cell lymphoma. Human l eukocyte antigens (HLA) were identical in the two affected siblings. T he present report suggests a possible link between MG and lymphoprolif erative disorders whose mechanism still needs to be clarified.