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Treatment outcome in juvenile‐onset myasthenia gravis
Author(s) -
Jastrzębska Aleksandra,
Jastrzębski Miłosz,
Ryniewicz Barbara,
KosteraPruszczyk Anna
Publication year - 2019
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.26445
Subject(s) - myasthenia gravis , thymectomy , medicine , retrospective cohort study , immunosuppression , neuromuscular disease , juvenile , cohort study , medical record , cohort , pediatrics , surgery , age of onset , disease , biology , genetics
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease of the neuromuscular junction. Approximately 10%–15% of MG patients have juvenile (<18 years of age) onset. We aimed to assess the clinical course, outcome, and subjectively perceived health status of a cohort of juvenile MG patients. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of medical records of 101 patients followed by a cross‐sectional questionnaire study. Results The mean age of patients was 12.8 years at onset and 13.7 years at diagnosis. Ninety percent of the patients were seropositive. Over 40% of the patients were treated with immunosuppression and over 80% underwent thymectomy. The mean Myathenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG‐ADL) scale score was 2.48. At last follow‐up, 30.9% of patients were in complete, stable remission; 77.8% perceived their health as good. Discussion The treatment outcome for juvenile MG is favorable, with a marked reduction of symptoms and good day‐to‐day activity achieved for most patients. Muscle Nerve 59:549–549, 2019