Science News: Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in a French Cohort of Myasthenia Gravis

Submitted by: Niranjan Singh, MD, DM

Solé G, Mathis S, Friedman D, et al. Impact of coronavirus disease 2019 in a French cohort of myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 2021;96(16):e2109-e2120. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000011669

Summary: Among 3,558 patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) registered in the French database for rare disorders, 34 (0.96%) had COVID-19. The mean age at COVID-19 onset was 55.0 ± 19.9 years (mean MG duration: 8.5 ± 8.5 years). By the end of the study period, 28 patients recovered from COVID-19, 1 remained affected, and 5 died. Only high Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) class (≥IV) before COVID-19 was associated with severe COVID-19 (p = 0.004); factors that were not associated included sex, MG duration, and medium MGFA classes (≤IIIb). The type of MG treatment had no independent effect on COVID-19 severity.

This registry-based cohort study shows that COVID-19 had a limited effect on most patients, and immunosuppressive medications and corticosteroids used for MG management are not risk factors for poorer outcomes.

Comments: This is a retrospective analysis of impact of coronavirus disease 2019 in a French cohort of myasthenia gravis. The study did not find evidence that use of immunosuppressant and corticosteroid has adverse outcome.