HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY-OF-LIFE AND TREATMENT TARGETS IN MYASTHENIA GRAVIS

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, multi-variate 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.