Abstract
Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an unpredicted neurologic disorder that may cause death; previous reports have failed to find a prognostic marker for the disease. Aim: To determine the impact of comorbidities in patients with Myasthenia gravis. Material and Methods: From January of 2002 to February of 2008 a database was created for patients with Myasthenia gravis (MG). The following variables were studied: age at onset of MG, gender, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, dysthyroidism, autoimmune disease, thymectomy procedure and histopathologic result, myasthenic crisis, emergency room visits due to weakness, use and maximum dose of pyridostigmine, prednisone and azathioprine. Results: In a total of 253 patients, we found comorbidities in 73%. The most frequent associated disorders were dyslipidemia, thyroid disease, diabetes, hypertension and other autoimmune conditions. Patients with MG and thymoma, diabetes, dyslipidemia, dysthyroidism and/or hypertension had higher rates of ER visits, myasthenic crises, and required higher doses of drugs. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that comorbidities are frequent in patients with MG (73%) and that they might worsen the prognosis of MG.
Highlights
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease characterized by fluctuating weakness of striated muscles, which can be severe enough to cause death
The present study demonstrates the elevated occurrence of comorbidities (73%) in patients with MG
The presence of dysthyroidism, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus was more frequent in patients with MG than in the general population, and the prevalence of AH was slightly lower
Summary
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease characterized by fluctuating weakness of striated muscles, which can be severe enough to cause death. Several reports describe comorbidities in patients with myasthenia gravis [1,2,3,4,5,6], but most of these report autoimmune rather than metabolic diseases. The relationship between comorbidities and prognosis of MG has not yet been elucidated Both incidence and prevalence of MG and other diseases vary according to the region of the world under study [7,8,9,10,11]. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an unpredicted neurologic disorder that may cause death; previous reports have failed to find a prognostic marker for the disease
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