[Obsessive behavior and thoughts in patients with myasthenia gravis]

230 patients with myasthenia gravis were investigated by a german questionnaire, the HAMBURGER-ZWANGS-INVENTAR, in order to quantify their obsessive and compulsive behaviour. Compared to normals, myasthenic patients show higher scores on the compulsion-subscales of the inventory. The most significant differences appeared on the orderliness-subscale. On the other hand ratings of obsessive behaviour are significantly lower than in the normal population. Especially (auto)aggressive ruminations do hardly occur in myasthenia, which is a remarkable fact in this autoaggressive immunological disease. Compulsive behaviour cannot be interpretated as clinical compulsive disorder, caused by myasthenia. Questionnaire replies rather indicate one aspect of the way of coping with the disease and its treatment.