ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the clinical significance of cortactin antibody in myasthenia gravis (MG).Methods Cortactin antibody in the serum of 100 MG patients, 40 normal controls and 40 other neuroimmune diseases patients was examined by Western blotting and ELISA using purified recombinant human protein cortactin as antigen .Acetylcholine receptor antibody ( AchR-ab ) and muscle specific kinase antibody (MuSK-ab) were parallely measured by ELISA.Results Antibodies to cortactin were found in nine (9％) serum samples of 100 MG patients.Four of the nine cortactin antibody positive sera were also positive for AChR-ab.The rest five MG patients only had antibodies against cortactin ( no detectable AChR-ab or MuSK-ab).None of the control subjects (including 40 normal controls and 40 other neuroimmune diseases patients ) had cortactin antibodies.Most (7/9) of the cortactin antibody positive MG patients presented with early-onset subgroup.Patients only with cortactin antibodies did not appear to have thymoma.Patients with MG who had both AChR and cortactin antibodies showed maximum involvement of muscles and severe Osserman's classification ( three cases of type ⅡB and one case of type Ⅳ) . Conclusion Cortactin antibody may be a new antibody for MG , which can provide clues for further exploring the potential pathogenic mechanisms of the disease .
ABSTRACT
Objective To compare the long term effectiveness of tonsillotomy(TT)vs. tonsillectomy (TE)by hypercator in treatment of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS)in children. Methods 119 children with tonsil hypertrophy were diagnosed with OSAHS and included in the study. Among them,57 children underwent TT by hypercator and 62 TE only after preoperative laboratory polysomnography(PSG). All participants were interviewed 5 years after operation to assess the satisfaction of their caregivers,investigate the frequency of respiratory infections,the rate of tonsil regrowth and evaluate their quality of life by Obstructive Sleep Apnea-18(OSA-18). Results Some of them received postoperative PSG. All parents reported alleviation of breathing obstruction,but the postoperative satisfaction in TT group was higher than TE group mainly because of the shorter time return to normal diet. The rate of the respiratory tract infections was not increased in all cases after surgery. Four cases of children were observed with tonsillar regrowth,but no surgery was needed for further treatment. The rate of the dry throat symptoms in TT group was lower than TE group. Conclusions Tonsillotomy by hypercator can effectively eliminate the obstruction symptoms in children with OSAHS,superior to TE for its shorter recovery period and smaller oral mucosal injury and lower rate of tonsils regrowth and it is worth to clinical promotion.