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Head‐drop: A frequent feature of late‐onset myasthenia gravis
Author(s) -
Sih Marvin,
Soliven Betty,
Mathenia Nicholas,
Jacobsen John,
Rezania Kourosh
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.25526
Subject(s) - myasthenia gravis , feature (linguistics) , medicine , head (geology) , pediatrics , physical medicine and rehabilitation , philosophy , biology , paleontology , linguistics
Head‐drop is often encountered in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients, but its frequency and clinical course have not been studied systematically. Methods In a retrospective study of a cohort of MG patients seen over a period of 11 years in a tertiary medical center, we assessed the clinical characteristics of patients who had head‐drop. Results Of 146 generalized MG patients, 15 had head‐drop during the course of their disease. Head‐drop patients had older age of onset than those who did not have head‐drop (mean age of onset 59.1 vs. 42.3 years) and were predominantly men. Head‐drop was present in 23% of patients > 60 versus 6% of those < 60 years, and it improved in 9 of 11 patients with treatment directed to generalized MG. Conclusions Head‐drop is a common, treatment‐responsive manifestation of late‐onset MG. Muscle Nerve 56 : 441–444, 2017