Nonthymoma early-onset- and late-onset-generalized myasthenia gravis-A retrospective hospital-based study

Abstract

Objective: Acquired myasthenia gravis (MG) is predominantly due to nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) autoantibodies (Ab). Differences between nonthymoma early-onset and late-onset MG were reported. We studied the clinical and serological characteristics of nonthymoma AChR Ab-positive-generalized MG patients. Patients and methods: Chinese AChR Ab-positive-generalized MG patients who had generalized disease for 3 years or longer were studied. Results: Among 41 such patients, 25 (61%) were female. The mean onset age was 43.5 years (range 9-78 years) and the mean follow-up duration was 7.8 years (range 3-20 years). Sixteen (39%) patients had late-onset disease (onset age ≥50 years). Compared to early-onset patients (onset age 90% of these patients were seropositive for striated muscle Ab. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.link_to_subscribed_fulltex