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Genetic factors in myasthenia gravis

A family study

Department of Medical Genetics (Ms. Kerzin-Storrar, Dr. Dyer, Ms. Kowalska, and Prof. Harris), St. Mary's Hospital, and the Department of Neurology (Drs. Metcalfe and Ferguson), Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, England.

We studied forty-four patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and their families. Thirty percent of patients had a confirmed family history of autoimmune disease; in one case this was MG. In all the families with autoimmune disease, the affected relatives were related to the patients through the maternal line. HLA-B8 and DR3 were increased in patients due to the high incidence of these antigens in female, nonthymoma patients with onset before 40 years. HLA-B5 was increased in patients with older onset. The haplotype A1-B8-DR3 was not found to be increased given the presence of B8 or DR3.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Ms. Kerzin-Storrar, Regional Genetic Service at St. Mary's Hospital, Central Manchester Health Authority, Whitworth Park, Manchester M13 OJH, England.

Received December 1, 1986. Accepted for publication in final form April 6, 1987.