Clinical trial · Observational
The Role of the Thymus in Myasthenia Gravis
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Although the association between thymic hyperplasia / thymoma and autoimmune myasthenia gravis has been known for some time, the question of causality remains uncertain. Recent research findings indicate, however, that especially in myasthenia patients with thymomas a non-physiological export of naive CD4 + T-cells can take place by the tumour and this could possibly play an important role in the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis. The investigators want to analyse the functionality and specificity of t-cells generated in thymomas as well as the effect of thymectomy on the immune system.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myasthenia Gravis | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Thymoma | Thymoma | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
Interventions
Interventions (0)
Data not yet available
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (4)
- label
- Myasthenia gravis with thymoma
- description
- Myasthenia gravis with thymoma
- label
- Myasthenia gravis without thymoma
- description
- Myasthenia gravis without thymoma
- label
- Thymoma without Myasthenia gravis
- description
- Thymoma without Myasthenia gravis
- label
- cardiac, or thyroid surgery
- description
- cardiac, or thyroid surgery
Primary outcomes (0)
[]Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients with compelling indications for thymectomy due to thymoma (with or without myasthenia gravis), Or * Patients with elective indication for thymectomy due to thymoma without myasthenia gravis * Patients with indication for a heart or thyroid surgery, in which for op-technical reasons, a (partial) resection of the thymus is performed. * Signed informed consent form * Age \> 17 Years Exclusion Criteria: * Other immunological diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis
References
Publications (3)
- RESULTKohler S, Keil T, Alexander T, Thiel A, Swierzy M, Ismail M, Ruckert JC, Meisel A. Altered naive CD4+ T cell homeostasis in myasthenia gravis and thymoma patients. J Neuroimmunol. 2019 Feb 15;327:10-14. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2019.01.005. Epub 2019 Jan 11. PMID 30686546
- RESULTKohler S, Keil TOP, Hoffmann S, Swierzy M, Ismail M, Ruckert JC, Alexander T, Meisel A. CD4+ FoxP3+ T regulatory cell subsets in myasthenia gravis patients. Clin Immunol. 2017 Jun;179:40-46. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2017.03.003. Epub 2017 Mar 9. PMID 28286113
- RESULTKohler S, Keil TO, Swierzy M, Hoffmann S, Schaffert H, Ismail M, Ruckert JC, Alexander T, Hiepe F, Gross C, Thiel A, Meisel A. Disturbed B cell subpopulations and increased plasma cells in myasthenia gravis patients. J Neuroimmunol. 2013 Nov 15;264(1-2):114-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2013.09.006. Epub 2013 Sep 18. PMID 24099983