Marta Figueiredo, PhD,  science writer—

Treatment with Soliris (eculizumab) leads to significant benefits in people with treatment-resistant generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), including those with myasthenic crisis and thymoma-associated disease, a real-world study from Japan shows. The data suggest that Soliris may be suitable for gMG patients with these features and who also check predefined…

Treatments promoting the formation of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clusters could represent a new therapeutic approach for people with MuSK-autoantibody positive myasthenia gravis (MuSK-MG), a preclinical study suggests. While the data still need to be confirmed in further studies, researchers highlighted the therapeutic potential of targeting MG-associated cell processes, instead of…

Current patient- and physician-reported measures of disease severity and clinical response effectively reflect rapid improvements associated with plasma exchange in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients, a study reports. These findings support the use of these MG-specific outcome measures in clinical trials of rapidly effective therapies for MG, such as plasma…

A microRNA called miR-143, which blocks a molecule involved in the development and severity of myasthenia gravis, may be a new therapeutic target, according to a mouse study. The study, “MicroRNA-143 inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis of thymocyte by targeting CXCL13 in myasthenia gravis mice models,” was…

Weekly infusions of Rituxan (rituximab) for four consecutive weeks followed by a monthly infusion for two months may be more effective than other Rituxan regimens in treatment‐resistant, MuSK antibody-positive myasthenia gravis (MuSK MG) patients, according to a small Spanish study. The study, “The impact of rituximab infusion protocol…

Quality of life among myasthenia gravis (MG) patients is worse in women than men, but removing the thymus in women eliminates this disparity, a recent study shows. The study, “Gender and Quality of Life in Myasthenia Gravis Patients from the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America Registry,” appeared…