title: [Myasthenia in children: long-term course].
abstract: Twenty three children with myasthenia were followed up in our Department for 10 years. There were no familial forms of the disease; there were no patients with the pure ophthalmic form but 61 p. 100 of patients had serious respiratory disease. Steroid therapy was possible in 10 cases: in 4 patients under 15 years of age, short courses of steroids were ineffective; in 6 patients over the age of 15, long term steroid therapy resulted in some improvement but cortico-dependence developed in 4 cases. One child responded to treatment with veinoglobulin (R). Sixteen children underwent thymectomy; the symptoms in the 7 non-thymectomized patients were equivalent. The myasthenic syndrome was stable or worsened in 75 p. 100 of cases after thymectomy; only 56 p. 100 of children improved 2 years after surgery. The incidence of complete remission was the same in the children undergoing thymectomy and in those not treated surgically at 7 years after thymectomy. Our attitude is therefore not to refer myasthenic children for routine thymectomy and to avoid steroid therapy whenever possible.
authors.affiliation: Service de Réanimation Infantile, Rééducation Neuro-Respiratoire, Hôpital Raymond-Poincaré, Garches.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Descamps
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bataille
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Estournet
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barois
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D013934:Thymectomy; D013997:Time Factors
vernacular_title: La myasthénie de l'enfant: évolution à long terme.