Increasing incidence of late-onset anti-AChR antibody-seropositive myasthenia gravis

Abstract

The incidence of myasthenia gravis (MG) from 1970 through 1999 was studied in an area with 2.3 million inhabitants. The mean annual incidence rate of early-onset MG was constant at 3.5 x 10(-6). In late-onset MG, the rate increased from 4.7 to 20.8 x 10(-6). The two onset types of MG may thus be distinct disorders. The author hypothesized that late-onset nonthymoma anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-seropositive MG may be provoked by environmental factors.