Full Issue

Abstract

The first issue of Volume 14 of the International Journal of Neurology (1980) was dedicated to myasthenia. It gathered pivotal experimental and clinical contributions that reflected the rapid advances of the late 1970s in understanding the immunopathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of myasthenia gravis (MG) and related neuromuscular disorders.

The issue opened with Jon Lindstrom’s landmark paper on antibodies to acetylcholine receptors in human myasthenia gravis, which helped define the autoimmune basis of the disease. Oded Abramsky explored the immunological mechanisms and the effects of steroids on autoimmunity, while Andrew G. Engel analyzed the immunopathology of MG, detailing structural and functional alterations at the neuromuscular junction.

Experimental approaches were represented by Takamori and Kasai, who developed an animal model of experimental myasthenia gravis to study receptor-mediated transmission failure. Goulon, Estournet, and Tulliez discussed myasthenia gravis in association with other systemic diseases, emphasizing autoimmune comorbidity. A notable study by Engel, Lambert, and Gómez described a new syndrome of end-plate acetylcholinesterase deficiency, characterized by small nerve terminals and reduced acetylcholine release.

Epidemiological data were presented in Masanori Uono’s report on clinical statistics of myasthenia in Japan, providing valuable demographic and clinical insights. The issue also included a pedagogical piece on teaching neurology in France (Bonduelle and Degos), and a History of Medicine article recounting Arnold Klebs and Harvey Cushing’s participation in the First International Neurological Congress (Berne, 1931) (Fulton).

It concluded with “On Vacation — The Bahamas” by Víctor Soriano, along with news and book reviews.

This issue marked a cornerstone in the journal’s coverage of neuroimmunology, documenting the transition of myasthenia gravis research from clinical observation to molecular and immunological understanding.