Summary
Objective:
to determine the clinical profile of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG); followed at the Neuromuscular Diseases Clinic of the University Hospital, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and to compare it with other Brazilian case series.
Methods:
sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from patients, and a systematic literature review performed, focusing on national studies on the clinical profile of MG patients.
Results:
sixty nine patients were enrolled in the study. Fifty five (91%) subjects were female and the mean age (SD) was 37.6 (±11.4) years. The mean disease duration was 14.1 years. Regarding treatment, prednisone was the most used strategy (64%), followed by the use of azathioprine (43%). There was no difference between thymectomized (42) and non-thymectomized (27) patients regarding disease severity and medication use.
Conclusion:
clinical and socio-demographic features of this MG sample from a University-based clinic resemble those reported in other Brazilian series and in the international literature.
Keywords:
myasthenia gravis
; epidemiology; neurology; thymectomy; therapeutics