[Intelligence, attention, and memory in patients with myasthenia gravis].
BACKGROUND
In patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), poor performance on cognitive tests has been found. Performance on memory tasks has been reported to correlate with disease activity, but memory in MG patients was also recently found to be unimpaired.


METHODS
Cognitive functioning was examined in 23 patients with MG and 23 healthy controls. The patients were assessed for IQ, memory, attention, and motor performance. Immunoglobulin G antiacetylcholine receptor autoantibody titers were determined. Event-related potentials were generated for patients and controls.


RESULTS
Mean IQs of patients were at average. Memory and attention were not more impaired in patients than controls. Event-related potentials were not delayed in either group. Patients with elevated autoantibody concentrations similarly showed unimpaired neurocognitive and motor functioning.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, no evidence of neuropsychological impairment was found in MG, arguing against the involvement of higher cortical functions. Sleep abnormalities rather than central mechanisms may explain the memory impairments reported by some studies.
Feldmann
R
R
Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Münster. feldrei@uni-muenster.de
Kiefer
R
R
Wiegard
U
U
Evers
S
S
Weglage
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*
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