News

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded $7.8 million to researchers at George Washington University to launch a network for improving research, treatment, and education in myasthenia gravis. This will be the first large and organized effort to focus on the disorder, which affects 20 in 100,000…

Ra Pharmaceuticals announced the first patient enrolled in RAISE, the company’s Phase 3 clinical trial assessing the effectiveness of zilucoplan  as a therapy for generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), has started receiving treatment. Zilucoplan, formerly known as RA101495, is an artificial peptide that binds to complement 5…

Treatment with immunosuppressive agents and Mestinon (pyridostigmine) protects against transition from ocular myesthenia gravis (MG) to a generalized form of the disease among patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor (AchR) antibodies, according to new research. Women, current or former smokers, and patients with thymus hyperplasia (enlargement) or…

Next month’s annual conference of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) in Washington, D.C., couldn’t come at a better time, says Marshall Summar, MD, chairman of NORD’s board of directors. “The pace of discovery in rare diseases has gone from brisk to hypersonic,” Summar told Bionews Services, publisher…

DAS Therapeutics has acquired GTP-004, an investigational oral treatment for myasthenia gravis, from GT Biopharma, the companies announced. GTP-004 will be named DAS-MG from now on, DAS Therapeutics said on its website. The investigational treatment combines a fixed dose of pyridostigmine — an approved therapy for myasthenia gravis-associated muscle…

Physicians should keep in mind that severe exacerbations in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) might be triggered by the use of gabapentin (sold under the brand name Neurontin, among others), normally used to control seizures, a case report study says. “Uncontrolled recurrent myasthenia gravis exacerbations secondary…

The diabetes drug metformin, which is largely safe and minimally toxic, can be of therapeutical value for myasthenia gravis, according to a study conducted using a mouse model of the disease. The study, “Metformin attenuates autoimmune disease of the neuromotor system in animal models of myasthenia gravis,” was…

Assessing altered eye movements with a technique called electrooculography (EOG) may become a non-invasive method for early diagnosis of myasthenia gravis (MG), according to new research. The study, “Analysis of Electrooculography Signals for the Detection of Myasthenia Gravis,” was published in the journal Clinical Neurophysiology.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to zilucoplan, Ra Pharmaceuticals‘ lead candidate for the treatment of myasthenia gravis (MG). This status helps to support the potential therapy’s development by granting Ra Pharma certain incentives. Zilucoplan, formerly known as RA101495, is an…

Scientists discovered that patients with myasthenia gravis have a unique metabolic profile that can be used to diagnose the disorder, but also to predict the course of the disease and possibly lead to personalized treatments. The study, “Beyond the antibodies: serum metabolomic profiling of myasthenia gravis,” recently was…