Unusual association of myasthenia gravis and ulcerative colitis in a 14-year-old boy

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory condition. Its incidence is 0.8 per 100,000 children per year and median age at diagnosis is 14.1 years in the pediatric population. Extradigestive manifestations are frequent in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but neurologic disorders are rarely associated. We report the case of a 14-year-old boy who was diagnosed with UC and thereafter autoimmune hepatitis with primary sclerosing cholangitis. Two months later, he also developed myasthenia gravis, another autoimmune disease. Physicians should be aware of the possibility of an association between several autoimmune diseases in patients with IBD in order to improve disease outcomes.