Myasthenia Gravis in Two Siblings

Abstract

THE FAMILIAL incidence of myasthenia gravis is rare, with 52 cases reported in 21 families in the medical literature between 1900 and 1964. In some of these patients the information given was inadequate to establish any diagnosis, while in others the anticholinesterase tests for the conclusive diagnosis of myasthenia gravis were not yet available. It was not until 1935 that M. B. Walker²² introduced neostigmine bromide (Prostigmin) in the treatment and diagnosis of myasthenia gravis. The following histories of a sister and brother, both suffering from myasthenia gravis, are presented as further contribution to the literature. Reports of Cases Case 1.—A 22-year-old single white female public school teacher, was admitted to the Montreal Neurological Institute in July, 1963, complaining of nasal speech and swallowing difficulties of four months' duration. She complained of blurred vision and difficulty in focusing over a period of two weeks in December, 1962, during