Open AccessThe epidemiology of myasthenia gravis
Author(s) -
Ana Maria Bubuioc,
Aigerim Kudebayeva,
С Т Туруспекова,
Vitalie Lisnic,
Maurizio Leone
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of medicine and life
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.354
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1844-3117
pISSN - 1844-122X
DOI - 10.25122/jml-2020-0145
Subject(s) - myasthenia gravis , agrin , epidemiology , acetylcholine receptor , neuromuscular junction , muscle weakness , weakness , autoimmunity , medicine , biology , immunology , bioinformatics , neuroscience , disease , receptor , anatomy
Neuromuscular junction (NMJ) disorders include several dysfunctions that ultimately lead to muscle weakness. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is the most prevalent NMJ disorder with a highly polymorphic clinical presentation and many different faces. Being an autoimmune disease, MG correlates with the presence of detectable antibodies directed against the acetylcholine receptor, muscle-specific kinase, lipoprotein-related protein 4, agrin, titin, and ryanodine in the postsynaptic membrane at the NMJ. MG has become a prototype serving to understand both autoimmunity and the function of the NMJ better. The aim of this review is to synthesize some of the epidemiological data available. Epidemiological data regarding MG are important for postulating hypotheses regarding its etiology and facilitating the description of MG subtypes. Thus, adequate documentation through broad databases is essential. The incidence and prevalence of MG reported around the globe have been rising steadily and consistently over the past decades. Ethnic aspects, gender-related differences, and environmental risk factors have been described, implying that these might contribute to a specific phenotype, further suggesting that MG may be considered an umbrella term that covers several clinical entities.