ABSTRACT
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular junction disorder in which the basic pathophysiologic mechanism is binding of the postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors by abnormally produced antibodies, with resultant blockage of muscle response. This chapter considers the limited epidemiologic data available on MG and focuses on some treatments currently used for that condition. Mortality data for MG have limitations. Since many patients with MG die from other conditions, those conditions rather than MG may be listed as underlying causes of death on the death certificate. Epidemiologic studies of MG that are based on clinical series may be misleading since they often represent only severe cases or a special subtype of the disease as it occurs in the population. The immune hypothesis was first suggested because of the frequent association of MG with other autoimmune diseases. R. Pirskanen found that connective tissue disorders and thyroid diseases were significantly more common among MG cases than among controls.
