RESUMO
The purpose of the study was to examine the T immunity system, nonspecific resistance and humoral factors in patients with generalized and local forms of myasthenia by a complex of research methods. This made it possible to determine immune disorders and to reveal the general regularities common to both forms of the disease. Based on the clinical and immunological data it has been established that the local form can be regarded as a transitory one, since the level of circulating immune complexes (CIC) remained within normal. The most well-defined changes in the immune status were detectable in patients suffering from the generalized form of myasthenia. These patients manifested a noticeable decrease of the counts of E1-REC, En-RFC and of their functional activity in lymphocyte blast transformation and phagocytic activity, as well as of theophylline-sensitive and resistant T cells, and by an increase of the levels of IgG, IgM and CIC. Such clear-cut activity of humoral factors is characteristic of autoimmune processes, enabling one to recommend that such patients be given immunocorrective therapy. Meanwhile the data on CIC can be used for the characterization of the disease generalization.
