Evaluations of olfactory function for myasthenia gravis patients

Abstract

To explore the olfactory function of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and analyze the correlation between olfactory dysfunction and clinical characteristics. A total of 61 MG patients from March to July 2014 and 32 healthy controls (HC) received T&T olfactometer test. Their clinical data were collected. And the relationship of T&T score and clinical characteristics were analyzed. The identification threshold of T&T olfactometer test was (2.07±1.56) versus (0.31±1.25) for healthy controls. MG patients had a worse performance on olfaction test than healthy controls (t=5.50, P<0.01). By Spearman's analysis, disease course (r=0.348, P=0.006), QMG scores (r=0.393, P=0.025), ADL scores (r=0.421, P=0.01) and dosing time of pyridostigmine (r=0.295, P=0.025) were positively correlated with T&T scores. However, the dosing times of prednisone (r=0.084, P=0.053) or immunodepressants (r=0.153, P=0.251) were not correlated with T&T scores. MG patients have poor olfactory sensation.And a potential involvement of non-motor system shall attract the attention of neurologists.