Association between myasthenia gravis and cognitive disorders: a PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis

Frequency and Correlates of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Myasthenia Gravis

“…However, this association was not maintained after multivariate analysis, wherein only a significant negative association was found between MCI and pyridostigmine use. The trend of the association between disease severity and MCI reported in our population is consistent with existing reports describing a positive association between severe MG and cognitive impairment [9]. In support of this hypothesis, a positive correlation was found in the present study between depressive symptomatology and sleep disturbance in patients with MG and disease severity and disability, thus supporting that more severe disease is associated with greater behavioral burden.…”

“…Regarding the impairment of individual cognitive domains during MG, in the present study, visuoconstructive/visuospatial skills, verbal short-and long-term memory, and selective and divided attention appeared to be, in order, the most frequently impaired cognitive domains. These data substantially confirm recent data from a Chinese metaanalysis in which the authors described a wide range of cognitive dysfunctions in MG including visuospatial skills, immediate and delayed verbal memory, visual short-term memory, and speed of information processing [9]. In another meta-analysis specifically focused on memory impairment in MG [37], the authors showed that subjects with MG evidenced lower cognitive performance on tests related to immediate and delayed verbal recall ability, and again, these results confirm those described in the present study.…”

“…The presence of cognitive impairment is controversial in patients with MG. Indeed, results from recent meta-analyses suggest the presence of cognitive dysfunction in MG [9,37]. However, in a study that used a large MG sample (n = 100), the authors reported no significant differences in cognitive performance between patients and controls [13].…”

“…Studies that have assessed the frequency and type of cognitive impairment in patients with MG are still scant and have often reported contradictory results. Some authors have described low cognitive performance on tests evaluating memory, executive functioning, and visuospatial abilities in patients with MG [8][9][10][11]. In contrast, others have not confirmed these findings, suggesting that MG patients' worse performance on cognitive tasks may depend on muscle fatigability, comorbidities, and visual and motor slowness [12,13].…”

Is the Myasthenia Gravis (MG) the Result of Age and Sex/Gender? A Narrative Review for Identifying Genetic and Epigenetic Biomarkers for a Differential MG Management in Old and Young Women

“…Among different mechanisms that can explain the presence of cognitive deficits and neuropsychiatric symptoms in MG patients, hypothetical pathogenic central effects of autoantibodies against AChR were suggested [52]. The impaired cognitive domains found in patients with MG included language, visuospatial function, information processing, verbal immediate and delayed recall memory, visual immediate recall memory, and response fluency, while attention, executive function, and visual delayed recall memory were unimpaired [53]. The presence of cognitive impairments could be linked to age of onset and to disease severity.…”