Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

Women with myasthenia gravis (MG) have more severe disease and worse quality of life than men, according to a study in Germany, which also found overweight patients had poorer quality of life too. The delay in being diagnosed was also longer for women than for men, which may result…

Measuring how much immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels drop after plasmapheresis, a blood-cleansing treatment for myasthenia gravis (MG), may help in determining the disease’s likely course, at least in the short term, a small study suggests. Changes in this potential biomarker that signal improvement also could help in…

About two years treatment with the immunosuppressant tacrolimus safely and effectively eases symptoms in children and adolescents with myasthenia gravis (MG) while cutting down the need for oral prednisone, according to a small study in China. Corticosteroids like prednisone, often used when other medications fail to control…

Having a thymoma, or a tumor in the thymus gland, can make a severe complication of myasthenia gravis (MG) — known as a myasthenic crisis — more likely, a Turkish study suggests. “We found that thymoma increased the risk of developing a myasthenic crisis, and also increased the risk of…

People with myasthenia gravis (MG) experience a lower health-related quality-of-life impact, face a higher medical burden, and require more assistance from caregivers compared with the general population, according to data pulled from two international studies. MG patients also were more likely to take sick leave from work and to…

A new therapy that combines plasmapheresis, or plasma exchange, with the removal of certain immune cells from a person’s blood was seen to result in better outcomes among people with severe myasthenia gravis (MG) than were…

People with myasthenia gravis (MG) benefit from thymectomy — surgery to remove the thymus gland — regardless of whether they have early- or late-onset disease or a tumor in the thymus, a study from Germany has found. The study, “The impact of thymectomy in subgroups of Myasthenia…

Barriers posed by social determinants of health can lead to a complex set of challenges — most centered on financial worry and mental health — for people with generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), according to a small study done in the U.S. Researchers found that these challenges had an impact…

Regulators in China approved Soliris (eculizumab) for adults with hard-to-treat (refractory) generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) who test positive for anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies. With this approval, Soliris is now the first complement inhibitor available to treat gMG in the country, according to AstraZeneca, the company that…

The direct costs of myasthenia gravis (MG) are about four times higher than for the general population and even higher when disease symptoms worsen during an exacerbation, according to a study from Italy. The study, “Real world study on prevalence, treatment and economic burden of myasthenia gravis in…