Features of depression development in myasthenia gravis. Kalbus O.I., Makarov S.O., Shastun N.P., Somilo O.V., Bukreyeva Yu.V. The relative risk of developing depression in myasthenia gravis is 2.14 times higher than in the general population. The features of depression in myasthenia patients remain poorly understood and need to be clarified. The purpose of this work was to study the features of the development of depression in patients with myasthenia gravis. From 2014 to 2017, 182 patients with myasthenia gravis were examined. 147 (80.8%) patients had a generalized form of the disease, 35 (19.2%) had an ocular form. The clinical examination included assessment of complaints, medical history, neurological examination, as well as MGFA (Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) disease class and subclass of the disease determination. The severity of myasthenia gravis has been quantified according to the QMG score (Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis Score). All the patients were examined for the titer of antibodies to acetylcholine receptors (AchR) and muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Patients were also tested for the presence of antibodies to titin and SOX1 by indirect immunofluorescence. To detect depression the Beck depression inventory (BDI) was used. The mean depression score in the total sample was 16.0 (10.0; 24.0), which corresponds to a moderate depression level. The mean depression score in patients with ocular form was 6.0 (3.0; 11.0) points (ie, depression is absent), whereas in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis-19.0 (12.0; 29.0) points (corresponds to moderate depression) (p <0.001). The distribution of patients with mild depression was also uneven: significantly bigger part of the patients was recorded with myasthenia gravis of class I (ocular form)-10 (28.6%), and with myasthenia gravis of class II-23 (44.2%). Among the patients with myasthenia gravis of class III, only 13 (20.3%) patients were reported with mild depression and 1 (3.2%) with class IV, p<0.001. The distribution of patients with moderate depression was the opposite of others: most patients had myasthenia gravis of class II-12 (18.8%), and there were no patients with myasthenia gravis of class I. A similar tendency is also observed in the case of severe depression: patients with myasthenia gravis of class II-23 (35.6%) dominated, to a lesser extent-patients with myasthenia gravis of class IV-6 (19.4%). Among patients with ocular myasthenia gravis, only 1 (2.9%) patient was found to have severe depression. Severe depression was mainly recorded in patients with myasthenia gravis of class IV-22 (71%) patients. The number of patients with severe depression has been decreased in the class of myasthenia gravis: 13 patients (20.3%) patients with ІІІ class, 1 (1.9%) with II class, no patients with class I. The degree of depression correlates with the clinical form of myasthenia gravis (ρ=-0.52; p<0.001), class (ρ=-0.30; p<0.001) and the subclass of the disease according to MGFA (ρ=-0.36; ...

The evaluation of approaches to the treatment of myasthenia gravis. Kalbus O.I., Shastun N.P., Makarov S.O., Bukreyeva Yu.V., Somilo O.V. Myasthenia gravis is a relatively rare autoimmune disease with an undetermined aetiology which affects neuromuscular junctions. Currently, the following approaches to the treatment of myasthenia gravis are mainly distinguished: symptomatic treatment with anticholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs), immunomodulatory therapy ("basic" therapy) with glucocorticoids, cytostatics, monoclonal antibodies; surgical treatment-thymectomy; short-term treatment with plasmapheresis and intravenous administration of immunoglobulin. The efficiency of treatment approaches to myasthenia gravis in Ukraine remains insufficiently studied. The purpose of this work is to analyse the therapeutic approaches in patients with myasthenia gravis depending on the clinical form and severity of the disease. Between 2014 and 2017, 182 patients with myasthenia gravis have been examined, out of which 147 (80.8%) were the patients with the generalized form of the disease and 35 (19.2%)-with its ocular form. The clinical neurological examination included the collection of complaints, an anamnesis of disease and life as well as a neurological examination. In all the patients, the level of antibodies to acetylcholine receptors (AchR) and to muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) has been measured, in terms of quantity as well, using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the presence of antibodies to titin and SOX1 has also been detected by means of indirect immunofluorescence. Of the total sample, less than a third (28.0%) of the patients examined received basic therapy; among them, there were no patients with the ocular form and only 34.7%-with the generalized form (p<0.001). Basic therapy is found more often among the patients with class II myasthenia gravis (51.9%), with a statistically significant (p<0.001) higher share of the patients receiving such a therapy than in classes III and IV (26.6% and 22.6% respectively). The structure of therapy in patients with classes III and IV has not shown any statistically significant difference (p=0.658), with symptomatic treatment being the predominant type of therapy. Undergoing basic therapy reduces the chances of a severe clinical course of myasthenia gravis (the QMG score of 17 and higher)-OR=0.52 (95.0% CI 0.14-0.90), p=0.032; fatal cases of the disease-OR=0.36 (95.0% CI 0.02-0.70), p=0.049. When basic therapy is used, the survival rate of the patients (Figure 2) is 42.0 years on average (95% CI 42.0-42.7) which is considerably higher (p=0.021) compared to that of the patients receiving symptomatic treatment only-33.0 years (95% CI 30.9-36.7). Immunomodulatory therapy was prescribed for only 28% of the patients in the total sample, for none of the patients with the ocular form of myasthenia gravis, and for 34.7% of the patients with the generalized myasthenia gravis. The prescription of immunomodulatory therapy reduces relative risks of a severe clinical course...

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic progressive inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. This disease mainly affects young females and leads to disability of the patient, which causes a significant socio-economic burden which this disease causes. Clinically, multiple sclerosis is characterized by a wide variety of neurological and neuropsychological manifestations: movement disorders, sensory disturbances and cognitive dysfunction. One of the most typical psycho-emotional disorders that occur in patients with multiple sclerosis are anxiety and depression. The article is devoted to the study of the features of these disorders in patients with multiple sclerosis. The purpose of the study is to evaluate and characterize psycho-emotional disorders in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The study included 105 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who underwent inpatient treatment in the Department of Neurology No. 1 Municipal Institution “Dnipropetrovsk Regional Clinic Hospital named after I.I. Mechnykov" Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council". Among the patients included in the study, there were 74 women (70.5%) and 31 men (29.5%). The largest proportion of those surveyed falls on the age group from 25 to 40 years – 80 (76.2%). All participants were assessed according to the generally accepted scale for multiple sclerosis patients assessment – Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). All study participants were divided into two groups – group 1 and group 2 – according to the degree of disability according to EDSS. Considering that the degree of disability according to EDSS≤3.5 is defined as mild, and most patients had just this level, they were assigned into group 1, patients with a score of 3.5<EDSS≤6.5 points were assigned to group 2 with a moderate degree of disability. The number of participants in group 1 was 73 patients (69.5%), group 2 – 32 (30.5%). The psychoemotional sphere was assessed using validated psychodiagnostic tests: Beck Depression Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The average level of depression, determined by Beck Depression Inventory, was 16.0 (13.0; 18.0) points among all examined, in patients of the 1st group – 14.0 (11.0; 16.0) points, while in patients of the 2nd group it was significantly higher (p<0.001) and amounted to 19.0 (19.0; 24.5) points. Assessment of the level of anxiety according to State-Trait Anxiety Inventory showed that in the majority of patients (84.8%) the level of reactive anxiety was moderate (31-44 points) and made up 36.0 (34.0; 39.0) points. Indicators of personal anxiety in most cases (69.5%) were low (up to 30 points) and averaged 27.0 (24.0; 31.0) points. It should be noted that the level of reactive anxiety exceeded the level of personal anxiety in the study groups and in general among all examined (p<0.001 for all comparisons). Anxiety and depression are very common psychoemotional disorders in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The relationship between the degree of depression, as well as personal and reactive anxiety and the degree of disability according to the EDSS, has been revealed, but the origin of these disorders is still not clear. Given the significant influence of psycho-emotional disorders on the quality of life of patients and the course of the disease, timely diagnosis and treatment should be the priority areas of management of patients with multiple sclerosis.

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