Health‐related quality‐of‐life and treatment targets in myasthenia gravis |
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| Authors: | Kimiaki Utsugisawa MD Shigeaki Suzuki MD Yuriko Nagane MD Masayuki Masuda MD Hiroyuki Murai MD Tomihiro Imai MD Emiko Tsuda MD Shingo Konno MD Shunya Nakane MD Yasushi Suzuki MD Kazuo Fujihara MD Norihiro Suzuki MD |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Neurology, Hanamaki General Hospital, , Hanamaki, 025–0075 Japan;2. Department of Neurology, Keio University School of Medicine, , Shinjuku‐ku, Tokyo, Japan;3. Department of Neurology, Tokyo Medical University, , Tokyo, Japan;4. Department of Neurology, Iizuka Hospital, , Iizuka, Japan;5. Department of Neurology, Sapporo Medical University Hospital, , Sapporo, Japan;6. Department of Neurology, Toho University Medical Center Oh‐hashi Hospital, , Tokyo, Japan;7. Department of Neurology, Nagasaki Kawatana Medical Center, , Higashi‐Sonogi‐Gun, Japan;8. Department of Neurology, Sendai Medical Center, , Sendai, Japan;9. Department of Neurology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, , Sendai, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine factors affecting health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) and to propose appropriate treatment targets for patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods: We evaluated 640 consecutive patients with MG seen at 11 neurological centers. Two‐year follow‐up data were obtained for 282 patients. Correlations between detailed clinical factors and the Japanese version of the 15‐item MG‐specific QOL scale score were analyzed. Results: In a cross‐sectional analysis of 640 MG patients, multivariate regression revealed that disease severity, as evaluated by the MG Composite (P < 0.0001), total dose of oral prednisolone during the last year (P = 0.002), and Cushingoid appearance index (P = 0.0004), showed significant negative effects on HRQOL, but the quantitative MG score and current prednisolone dose did not. Conclusions: Achieving minimal manifestations (MM) status or better with prednisolone ≤5 mg/day was found to exert a major positive impact on HRQOL in both the cross‐sectional and 2‐year follow‐up patient samples and can be recommended as a treatment target. Muscle Nerve 50: 493–500, 2014 |
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| Keywords: | autoimmune diseases cohort studies myasthenia quality of life treatment |
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