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Steven Eliot Levine, MD; John C. Keesey, MD

Arch Neurol. 1986;43(2):197-198.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

The safety and efficacy of plasmapheresis in the treatment of myasthenia gravis is a matter of continuing investigation. Its use in myasthenic crisis in particular is increasingly accepted.^1,2 Herein we report the successful use of plasmapheresis during pregnancy in a young woman with unusually fulminant, antibody-negative myasthenia gravis.

REPORT OF A CASE

A 22-year-old, gravida 0 woman had been well except for a one-day episode of vomiting and diarrhea following a picnic. Twelve days later she developed fluctuating dysphagia and dysphonia over the course of one evening. Over the next several days ocular, facial, and limb weakness accumulated and the patient finally was hospitalized near her home. Physical examination and results of repetitive nerve stimulation studies and an edrophonium chloride test were all believed to be consistent with myasthenia gravis. A lumbar puncture disclosed five white blood cells per cubic millimeter and the protein level was 63 mg/dL. The . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Neurology (Drs Levine and Keesey) and Medicine (Dr Levine), UCLA Center for the Health Sciences.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication June 27, 1985.

Reprint requests to 15211 Vanowen St, Suite 207, Van Nuys, CA 91405 (Dr Levine).

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