antibodies to acetylcholine (ACh) receptors (AChRs) themselves occur in 85% of cases ('seropositive'); in the remainder of cases antibodies bind to a different muscle membrane target ('seronegative')
prevalence in northern Europe is 10-15 per 100,000 (1)
non-thymoma cases have a peak incidence at 10-30 years and again, at 60-70 years of age; those associated with thymoma have a peak incidence at 40-50 years of age
females are affected more often in the under 40 year old age group whereas men predominate in cases which develop in older age groups
about 10% of cases develop during childhood
thymoma - this is present in 10% of patients but is rare in 'seronegative' myasthenia gravis and children
Reference:
Prescribers' Journal 2000; 40 (2): 93-98.
Jeffrey M. Statland, Emma Ciafaloni. Myasthenia gravis: Five new things Neurol Clin Pract. 2013 April; 3(2): 126-133.
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