Immune disease and HLA associations with myasthenia gravis

Abstract

In the late 1950's laboratory and clinical evidence suggested that myasthenia gravis was an autoimmune disorder. Since then a voluminous literature has developed documenting the many immunological abnormalities that occur in this condition. Recent findings point to a central disorder of immunoregulation. It is postulated that the disease occurs as a result of host genetic and environmental influences-the latter being, as yet unidentified and possibly a virus.