{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T06:08:56Z","timestamp":1775628536638,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775606400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Latin-American and Caribbean (LAC) countries face persistent challenges in achieving universal health coverage, with out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures posing a significant barrier. Access to care for rare diseases, such as myasthenia gravis (MG), is significantly impacted. We conducted an exploratory descriptive study between LAC countries, and we assessed the availability of diagnostic and therapeutic resources for MG across 12 LAC countries, along with associated costs and access barriers. We found marked inequalities regarding the availability and coverage of diagnostic tests and therapies by public healthcare systems. The elevated out-of-pocket costs, up to several times the minimum wage, and shortage of neurologists, makes appropriate diagnosis and treatments inaccessible for many patients living with MG. Novel treatments for MG are unavailable for most people with MG in Latin America.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1791605","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T05:32:03Z","timestamp":1775626323000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Myasthenia gravis in Latin America and the Caribbean: epidemiology, resources, and accessibility to diagnosis and treatment"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Valeria L.","family":"Salutto","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Institute Alfredo Lanari, Buenos Aires University","place":["Buenos Aires, Argentina"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cristian E.","family":"Navarro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine and School of Economic Sciences, Universidad de Antioquia","place":["Medell\u00edn, Colombia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alejandra","family":"Urra Pincheira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuromuscular Unit, Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Cl\u00ednica Alemana","place":["Santiago, Chile"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"David R.","family":"Dondis Cama\u00f1o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Neurociencias, Ciudad de la Salud, Caja de Seguro Social","place":["Ciudad de Panam\u00e1, Panama"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karina","family":"Guerrero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Central de Venezuela","place":["Caracas, Venezuela"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andr\u00e9 C. J.","family":"dos Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ribeir\u00e3o Preto School of Medicine, University of S\u00e3o Paulo","place":["S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carlos A.","family":"Moreno Martinez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hospital del Valle","place":["San Pedro Sula, Honduras"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"V\u00edctor D.","family":"Ojeda Jacquet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hospital Central IPS","place":["Asunci\u00f3n, Paraguay"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lenin","family":"Pe\u00f1aloza Miranda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Caja Nacional de Salud","place":["La Paz, Bolivia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abayub\u00e1","family":"Perna Ramos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro Privado Montevideo","place":["Montevideo, Uruguay"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Guillermo","family":"Romero Su\u00e1rez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hospital Metropolitano de Quito","place":["Quito, Ecuador"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Edwin S.","family":"Vargas Ca\u00f1as","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Neuromuscular Diseases Clinic","place":["Mexico City, Mexico"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Juan Francisco","family":"Idiaquez Rios","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto","place":["Toronto, ON, Canada"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carolina","family":"Barnett-Tapia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto","place":["Toronto, ON, Canada"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","first-page":"1","volume-title":"Health at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2020","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e11","DOI":"10.26633\/RPSP.2020.11","article-title":"Socioeconomic inequalities in access barriers to seeking health services in four Latin American countries","volume":"44","author":"Houghton","year":"2020","journal-title":"Rev Panam Salud Publica"},{"key":"ref3","first-page":"1","volume-title":"Health at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2023","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1186\/s13690-022-00793-7","article-title":"Has Latin America achieved universal health coverage yet? 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