Specimen

2 mL (1 mL min.) Serum from 1 SST. Ship refrigerated or frozen. Avoid general anaesthetic or muscle relaxant drugs 24 hours prior to sampling. This assay should not be requested for patients who have recently received radio-isotopes therapeutically or diagnostically due to potential assay interference. Clinical history is required..

Usage

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is characterised by muscle weakness & easy fatigability most commonly due to autoantibody mediated loss of functional acetylcholine receptors in the postsynaptic membrane of skeletal muscle. ACHR antibodies are not found in Congenital MG. This assay is used to diagnose Acquired forms of MG (90% positive), for detecting subclinical MG in recipients of D-penicillamine, Thymoma without clinical evidence of MG & Graft versus Host disease. It may also be positive in Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, Autoimmune liver disease & Paraneoplastic autoimmune neurological disorders.