Clinical and biological markers to differentiate between ocular and generalised forms of myasthenia gravis

Danish clinicians reviewed 350 records of patients with ocular or generalised forms of autoimmune myasthenia :

  • clinical, electrophysiological and serological data were compiled and compared,
  • 15.7% of patients had ocular myasthenia,
  • the onset was later than in generalised forms, with lower levels of autoantibodies against the acetylcholine receptor (ARch),
  • diagnostic odyssey was also longer, and symptomatic treatment was generally less aggressive,
  • other parameters such as gender, the presence of other autoimmune diseases, or the time taken to obtain a therapeutic response were not correlated.

This work will be useful in better characterising the two main expressions of autoimmune myasthenia.

 

Ocular versus generalized myasthenia gravis: a continuum associated with acetylcholine receptor antibody titers. Axelsen KH, Kjær Andersen R, Andersen LK et al. Neuromuscul Disord. 2024 Oct.