title: Juvenile Myasthenia Gravis in Korea: Subgroup Analysis According to Sex and Onset Age.
abstract: Juvenile myasthenia gravis presents before 18 years of age with different characteristics according to racial background and pubertal development. The authors aimed to determine the clinical characteristics of children and adolescents of Korean ethnicity with myasthenia gravis, and evaluate the presentation and clinical outcomes according to the sex and onset age of the patients. The authors recruited 88 Korean juvenile myasthenia gravis patients between September 2005 and August 2015. Worse clinical severity from presentation, more aggressive treatment strategies, and worse final treatment outcomes were noted in girls with postpubertal onset than in the other patients. The symptoms were milder (pure ocular presentation in 96.6% [85/88]) and the disease course was more benign (94.3% [83/88]) in this study than in the literature. The homogenous racial background might have contributed to these results. These findings highlight the influence of pubertal development and the need for timely and appropriate active treatment, including thymectomy, to improve prognosis.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Ha Neul
authors: HN
authors: Lee
authors: Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Severance Children's Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Hoon-Chul
authors: HC
authors: Kang
authors: Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Severance Children's Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Joon Soo
authors: JS
authors: Lee
authors: Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Severance Children's Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Heung Dong
authors: HD
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Neurology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Ha Young
authors: HY
authors: Shin
authors: Department of Neurology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Seung Min
authors: SM
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Neurology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Il Nam
authors: IN
authors: Sunwoo
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea ymleemd@yuhs.ac.
authors: Young-Mock
authors: YM
authors: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D011627:Puberty; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: juvenile myasthenia gravis; onset age; pediatric; puberty; sex; thymectomy