Epidemiological evidence for a hereditary contribution to myasthenia gravis: a retrospective cohort study of patients from North America.
Journal Article (Journal Article;Review)
OBJECTIVES: To approximate the rate of familial myasthenia gravis and the coexistence of other autoimmune disorders in the patients and their families. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Clinics across North America. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 1032 patients diagnosed with acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR)-positive myasthenia gravis. METHODS: Phenotype information of 1032 patients diagnosed with AChR-positive myasthenia gravis was obtained from clinics at 14 centres across North America between January 2010 and January 2011. A critical review of the epidemiological literature on the familial rate of myasthenia gravis was also performed. RESULTS: Among 1032 patients, 58 (5.6%) reported a family history of myasthenia gravis. A history of autoimmune diseases was present in 26.6% of patients and in 28.4% of their family members. DISCUSSION: The familial rate of myasthenia gravis was higher than would be expected for a sporadic disease. Furthermore, a high proportion of patients had a personal or family history of autoimmune disease. Taken together, these findings suggest a genetic contribution to the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Green, JD; Barohn, RJ; Bartoccion, E; Benatar, M; Blackmore, D; Chaudhry, V; Chopra, M; Corse, A; Dimachkie, MM; Evoli, A; Florence, J; Freimer, M; Howard, JF; Jiwa, T; Kaminski, HJ; Kissel, JT; Koopman, WJ; Lipscomb, B; Maestri, M; Marino, M; Massey, JM; McVey, A; Mezei, MM; Muppidi, S; Nicolle, MW; Oger, J; Pascuzzi, RM; Pasnoor, M; Pestronk, A; Provenzano, C; Ricciardi, R; Richman, DP; Rowin, J; Sanders, DB; Siddiqi, Z; Soloway, A; Wolfe, GI; Wulf, C; Drachman, DB; Traynor, BJ
Published Date
- September 18, 2020
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 10 / 9
Start / End Page
- e037909 -
PubMed ID
- 32948566
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC7511637
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 2044-6055
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037909
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- England