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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Adult, Aged, Autoantibodies, B-Cell Activating Factor, Case-Control Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Myasthenia Gravis, PAX5 Transcription Factor, Receptors, Cholinergic, Statistics, Nonparametric.
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Is b-cell-activating factor elevated in serum of patients with myasthenia gravis? Context: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a B-cell-mediated autoimmune disease. B-cell-activating factor (BAFF) is a major factor in B-cell development and activation. In this study we investigated serum BAFF levels in MG patients. We compared the serum BAFF levels of 20 MG patients with gender-matched healthy controls. We assayed serum concentrations of BAFF and anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR) titers. Serum BAFF levels of MG patients with AChR antibodies were significantly higher than those of healthy controls. A significant positive correlation was observed between serum BAFF levels and anti-AChR antibody titers. BAFF values did not correlate with disease severity.
assistant
BAFF may play a major role in the pathogenesis of MG, and it may provide a potential target for therapy in patients with MG. Muscle Nerve 54: 1030-1033, 2016. Final Decision: yes