The Epidemiologic, Clinical and Laboratory Findings of Patients with Myasthenia Gravis in Southern Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder of neuromuscular junction associated with presence of antibodies against nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). The pattern of the MG varies in different ethnical and geographical regions. Data regarding the pattern of the disease in Iran is scarce. Thus we performed this study in order to describe the epidemiologic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of MG in Iranian population. Method and Material: This was a retrospective study being performed in Nemazee Hospital, a tertiary health care center affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, from 2001 to 2010. The medical records were reviewed and the data were entered into a computer database. Data are presented as mean ± SD and proportions as appropriate. Result: Overall we included 208 patients with MG among whom there were 62 (29.8%) men and 146 (70.2%) women. The mean age of the patients was found to be 33.19 ± 15.75 (range 1-85) years. The median age at onset was 28±2.3 years. Eight (3.9%) patients had family history of MG, 1.9% and 2.4% of patients had a background of Diabetes Mellitus and Rheumatoid disease in family, respectively. Thymoma was observed in 9.1% of patients. The presenting symptom was found to be ocular ones detected in 67 (34.9%) patients out of which 59 (30.7%) had bulbar and 12 (6.3%) had appendicular involvement. Edrophonium test was done for 28 patients out of whom 78.6% tested positive. The most common histopathology finding was thymic hyperplasia and the second most common was thymoma. Conclusion: This is the first study describing MG in an Iranian population. The pattern of disease was found to be much more similar to North America and Europe. MG was found to be more common in females consistent with western studies. [GMJ. 2012;1(1):20 -23]