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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="issn">1043-3155</journal-id>
<journal-id journal-id-type="nlm-ta">Pediatr Neurol Briefs</journal-id>
<journal-id journal-id-type="pmc">pedneurbriefs</journal-id>
<journal-id journal-id-type="iso-abbrev">Pediatr Neurol Briefs</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>Pediatric Neurology Briefs</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title>Pediatr Neurol Briefs</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub">2166-6482</issn>
<issn pub-type="ppub">1043-3155</issn>
<issn-l>2166-3155</issn-l>
<publisher>
<publisher-name>Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Chicago, IL, USA</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">PNB-2-66-b</article-id>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.15844/pedneurbriefs-2-9-3</article-id>
<article-categories>
<subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
<subject>Neonatal Neuromuscular Disorders</subject>
</subj-group>
<subj-group subj-group-type="Discipline-v2">
<subject>Neurology</subject>
<subject>Pediatrics</subject>
<subject>Nervous System Diseases</subject>
<subject>Child Development</subject>
<subject>Brain Diseases</subject>
<subject>Neurosurgery</subject>
<subject>Child</subject>
<subject>Infant</subject>
</subj-group>
</article-categories>
<title-group>
<article-title>Neonatal Myasthenia Gravis</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
<contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931</contrib-id>
<name>
<surname>Millichap</surname>
<given-names>J. Gordon</given-names>
</name>
<degrees>MD</degrees>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="AF0001">1</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="AF0002">2</xref>
<xref ref-type="corresp" rid="cor1">&#x002A;</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group>
<aff id="AF0001">
<label>1</label>Division of Neurology, Children&#x0027;s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL</aff>
<aff id="AF0002">
<label>2</label>Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL</aff>
<author-notes>
<corresp id="cor1"><label>&#x002A;</label>Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: <email xlink:href="jgmillichap@northwestern.edu">jgmillichap@northwestern.edu</email>
</corresp>
</author-notes>
<pub-date date-type="pub" publication-format="print">
<month>09</month>
<year>1988</year>
</pub-date>
<pub-date date-type="pub" publication-format="electronic">
<day>01</day>
<month>08</month>
<year>2016</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2</volume>
<issue>9</issue>
<fpage>66</fpage>
<lpage>67</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x00A9; 1988 The Author(s)</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>1988</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the <uri xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</uri>, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<related-article id="R1" related-article-type="commentary-article" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.1016/0887-8994(88)90039-2" vol="4" page="245">
<article-title>Neonatal myasthenia gravis: specific advantages of repetitive stimulation over edrophonium testing</article-title>
</related-article>
<abstract abstract-type="web-summary" specific-use="electronic-only">
<p>The advantages of electrodiagnosis in a premature infant with neonatal myasthenia gravis are proposed by the Dept of Rehabilitation Medicine, Children&#x2019;s Hospital and Medical Center, Univ of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA.</p>
</abstract>
<kwd-group>
<kwd>Neonatal Myasthenia Gravis</kwd>
<kwd>Subependymal Hemorrhage</kwd>
<kwd>Pyridostigmine Therapy</kwd>
</kwd-group>
</article-meta>
</front>
<body>
<p>The advantages of electrodiagnosis in a premature infant with neonatal myasthenia gravis are proposed by the Dept of Rehabilitation Medicine, Children&#x2019;s Hospital and Medical Center, Univ of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. The infant, born to a mother with myasthenia, suffered hypoxia and subependymal hemorrhage which probably contributed to the hypotonia and poor respiratory effort. Testing with edrophonium, 0.1 mg/kg IV demonstrated no clinical improvement, whereas repetitive motor nerve stimulation testing showed a significant decremental response consistent with a diagnosis of neonatal myasthenia gravis. The decremental response was corrected following IV infusion of edrophonium 0.15 mg/kg. Pyridostigmine in a dose of 8 mg/kg/day resulted in clinical improvement of respiratory and muscular activity, and the infant was weaned from assisted ventilation at 27 days of age. He was discharged at 41 days of age on pyridostigmine therapy. The authors conclude that repetitive motor nerve stimulation may be a more reliable diagnostic procedure than edrophonium IV in the newborn with suspected myasthenia gravis. [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="CIT0001">1</xref>]</p>
<disp-quote>
<p><bold><underline>COMMENT</underline></bold>. The value of electrodiagnostic tests in the differential diagnosis of the hypotonic infant is demonstrated in these 2 case reports. Neonatology texts often recommend edrophonium as the test of choice in neonatal myasthenia gravis. The above experience indicates that the pharmacological test alone may not be as sensitive as repetitive nerve stimulation in the newborn with multiple problems. Ultrasonography is an additional technique of potential value in the work up of the hypotonic infant. Heckmatt JZ and Dubowitz V of Hammersmith Hospital, London, have introduced the method for the differentiation of congenital muscular dystrophy and non-neuromuscular cases of hypotonia. [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="CIT0002">2</xref>]</p>
</disp-quote>
</body>
<back>
<ref-list>
<ref id="CIT0001">
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</article>