Alice Melão,  —

The thymus may play a central role in the regulation of autoimmunity that drives the coexistence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and myasthenia gravis (MG), as well as in treatment response of patients with both disorders, a case series suggests. This finding resulted from an analysis of four…

Blocking the signals of the interleukin-9 receptor, or IL-9R, delayed the progression of myasthenia gravis and reduced symptoms of the disease in rats, a study reports. The study, “Exogenous IL-9 Ameliorates Experimental Autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis Symptoms in Rats,” was published in the journal of…

Protalex’s lead treatment candidate PRTX-100 again showed the potential to lessen disease activity and preserve grip strength in a second study in a mouse model of myasthenia gravis (MG). These findings, from an interim analysis of a study led by researchers at George Washington University, are intended to to…

For the first time, a case of myasthenia gravis in combination with damaged bone marrow and an inflammatory muscle disease was reported in a patient. This rare case was described in the journal Case Reports in Neurology, in the study “Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation for Polymyositis…

Surgeons in China have developed a new way of removing the thymus — a procedure called a thymectomy — in myasthenia gravis patients that may be both easier on the doctors operating and likely to improve post-operative outcomes in patients. The method was described and validated in the study, “…

Vaccination does not trigger autoimmunity linked to myasthenia gravis in pediatric patients, a study based on records of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests. The findings of the study “Pediatric Myasthenia Gravis After Vaccination in the United States. A Report from the CDC/FDA Vaccine…

Infection of the thymus by the virus that causes fifth disease — the human parvovirus B19 — can induce thymus overgrowth (hyperplasia) contributing to the development of myasthenia gravis, researchers have found. Reported in a study published in the journal Clinical Microbiology and Infection, this finding adds new…

A therapy that European regulators approved for treating Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) can help manage myasthenia gravis symptoms, a study reports. The findings on Firdapse appeared in the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience. The title of the article is “3,4-Diaminopyridine for the treatment of myasthenia gravis with electrophysiological patterns…

Conducting high-quality randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in rare diseases such as myasthenia gravis (MG) can be challenging. Researchers at Duke University and Harvard Medical School reviewed study design options that could enhance the assessment of potential new therapies for MG. The study, “Comparative effectiveness clinical…

The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America brought together a group of experts with the aim of establishing a formal consensus statement for the treatment and care of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). An overview on the proposed guidelines was recently published in the article, “Developing treatment…