News

Thymectomy — removal of the thymus gland — provides clinical benefits to non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis patients for as long as five years after the procedure, according to a follow-up study. The study, “Long-term effect of thymectomy plus prednisone versus prednisone alone in patients with non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis: 2-year extension…

Patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), who are positive for the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody, respond effectively to influenza vaccination, even if taking immunosuppressants. Also, influenza vaccination is safe, and does not exacerbate MG symptoms in these patients, according to a study. The study, titled “A prospective,…

Among myasthenia gravis patients (MG), males and those with a higher body mass index are at a higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea, which is similar to what has been been reported in the general population, a study shows. The study, “Characteristics of obstructive sleep apnea in myasthenia…

A team of French researchers may have found a new therapeutic target, the IL-23/Th17 signaling cascade, to control tissue inflammation in patients with myasthenia gravis. The study, “Il-23/Th17 cell pathway: A promising target to alleviate thymic inflammation maintenance in myasthenia gravis,” was published in the Journal of…

MG-ADL, a patient-reported scale commonly used to address symptom severity in myasthenia gravis (MG), has a poor sensitivity for measuring generalized muscle weakness. Researchers suggest that more questions about it be added. The study, titled “Sensitivity of MG-ADL for generalized weakness in myasthenia gravis,” was published…

Treatment of adult MuSK-antibody positive myasthenia gravis (MuSK-MG) patients with the investigational therapy Firdapse (amifampridine phosphate) improved muscle strength, eased fatigue, and was safe, according to full results of a Phase 2b clinical trial. Recruitment is ongoing for a phase 3 clinical trial (NCT03579966) testing Firdapse in MuSK-MG patients.

A new test offers a rapid, sensitive and inexpensive way to detect anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). The study with that finding, “A Simple, Rapid and Non-Radiolabeled Immune Assay to Detect Anti-AChR Antibodies in Myasthenia Gravis,” was published in the journal…

Commonly used clinical scales to measure symptom severity in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients are insufficient to precisely evaluate swallowing problems and predict the risk of silent aspiration, a study reports. Patients with difficulty swallowing and disease severity classified…

Cash-strapped governments across the 28-member European Union are struggling to control runaway healthcare expenditures — at exactly the same time as the promise of new but expensive therapies to treat rare diseases has never been greater. That’s the paradox faced by pharmaceutical companies as well as patient advocacy groups in…

A patient with symptoms of a myasthenic crisis was successfully diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG), using an approach called the ice pack test, a case study reports. The study, “Ice Pack Test – An Useful Bedside Test to Diagnose Myasthenia Gravis,”…