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Normally, there is no acetylcholine receptor antibody (or less than 0.05 nmol/L) in the bloodstream.
Note: nmol = nanomole
Note: Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test results.
The example above shows the common measurement for results for these tests. Some laboratories use different measurements or may test different specimens.
An abnormal result means acetylcholine receptor antibody has been detected in your blood. It confirms the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis in people who have symptoms. Nearly half of people with myasthenia gravis limited to their eye muscles (ocular myasthenia gravis) have this antibody in their blood.
However, the lack of this antibody does not rule out myasthenia gravis. About 1 in 5 people with myasthenia gravis do not have signs of this antibody in their blood.
Vincent A, Newson-Davis J. Disorders of neuromuscular transmission. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier. 2007: chap 448.
Sanders DB, Howard JF Jr. Disorders of neuromuscular transmission. In: Bradley WG, Daroff RB, Fenichel GM, Jankovic J, eds. Bradley: Neurology in Clinical Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Butterworth-Heinemann Elsevier; 2008:chap 82.
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