Epidemiological evidence for a hereditary contribution to myasthenia gravis: a retrospective cohort study of patients from North America.
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.
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- Retrospective Studies
- Receptors, Cholinergic
- North America
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Humans
- Autoantibodies
- 52 Psychology
- 42 Health sciences
- 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences
- 1199 Other Medical and Health Sciences
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Retrospective Studies
- Receptors, Cholinergic
- North America
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Humans
- Autoantibodies
- 52 Psychology
- 42 Health sciences
- 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences
- 1199 Other Medical and Health Sciences