High frequency of allergic conjunctivitis in myasthenia gravis without thymoma.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the frequency of allergic disorders in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients and characterize the features of MG associated with allergic disorders.


METHODS
Frequencies of past and present common allergic disorders in 160 MG patients who visited the Department of Neurology, Kyushu University Hospital from April 2000 to July 2003 and in 81 neurological normal controls were studied.


RESULTS
Among various allergic disorders, the frequency of allergic conjunctivitis (AC) was significantly higher in MG patients (39/160, 24.4%, p(corr)=0.0112), especially with MG without thymoma (36/123, 29.3%, p(corr)=0.0016), in comparison to the controls (6/81, 7.4%). MG patients with AC showed a significantly higher rate of seronegative MG (43.6% vs. 17.4%, p=0.008) and a higher tendency of ocular MG (43.6% vs. 28.1%, p=0.071). Moreover, MG with AC had significantly lower anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody titers (median 6.8 nmol/l vs. median 23.6 nmol/l, p=0.0359) as well as a lower rate of coexisting thymoma (7.7% vs. 17.4%, p=0.016). The incidence of myasthenic crisis was also lower in MG with AC than without AC, yet the difference was not significant (7.7% vs. 15.7%).


CONCLUSIONS
There was a significant association of AC with MG especially for ocular or seronegative MG in cases without thymoma.
Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. hmurai@neuro.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Hiroyuki
H
Murai
Manabu
M
Osoegawa
Hirofumi
H
Ochi
Jun-Ichi
J
Kira
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000906:Antibodies / Q000378:metabolism; D003233:Conjunctivitis, Allergic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000276:immunology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013945:Thymoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology
D000906:Antibodies; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic