Clinical and therapeutic features of myasthenia gravis in adults based on age at onset

Authors: Elena Cortés‐Vicente, Rodrigo Álvarez‐Velasco, Sonia Segovia, Carmen Paradas, Carlos Casasnovas, A. Guerrero-Solá, Julio Pardo, Alba Ramos‐Fransí, Teresa Sevilla, Adolfo López de Munaín, María Teresa Gómez‐Casares, Ivonne Jericó, Gerardo Gutiérrez‐Gutiérrez, Ana L. Pelayo‐Negro, María Asunción Martín, María Dolores Mendoza, Germán Morís, Ricard Rojas‐García, Jordi Díaz‐Manera, Luís Querol, Eduard Gallardo, Beatriz Gómez, Maria Alberti, Lucía Galán, Tania García‐Sobrino, Alicia Martínez‐Piñeiro, Ana Lozano-Veintimilla, Roberto Fernández‐Torrón, Ángel Cano-Abascal, Isabel Illa - Neurology 2020 cited by 169

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of patients with very-late-onset myasthenia gravis (MG). METHODS: This observational cross-sectional multicenter study was based on information in the neurologist-driven Spanish Registry of Neuromuscular Diseases (NMD-ES). All patients were >18 years of age at onset of MG and onset occurred between 2000 and 2016 in all cases. Patients were classified into 3 age subgroups: early-onset MG (age at onset <50 years), late-onset MG (onset ≥50 and <65 years), and very-late-onset MG (onset ≥65 years). Demographic, immunologic, clinical, and therapeutic data were reviewed. RESULTS: < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with MG are primarily ≥65 years of age with anti-AChR antibodies and no thymoma. Although patients with very-late-onset MG may present life-threatening events at onset, they achieve a good outcome with fewer immunosuppressants when diagnosed and treated properly.