News

People with refractory myasthenia gravis are at a higher risk of myasthenic crises and of being hospitalized compared to non-refractory patients, researchers report. Results reveal an increased disease burden in people with refractory myasthenia gravis, emphasizing the need for prevention and development of new treatment options for…

Retrophin and the U.S. subsidiary of Britain’s Horizon Pharma will each donate $3 million over a six-year period to the Rare Disease Institute (RDI) at Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., helping it to strengthen care available and expand as a “center of excellence” for rare…

Researchers in Japan wrote about a new case study where treatment with the immunotherapy Opdivo (nivolumab) led to a relapse of myasthenia gravis (MG). The study is a new piece of evidence supporting previous concerns that this type of treatment may increase risk for autoimmune disorders. The…

In recognition of Rare Disease Day 2018, Bionews Services — which publishes this website — will attend and report on three relevant conferences in the U.S. dealing with policies and programs of importance to patients and their families. The three are among 50 events in 32 states…

A rock-painting contest in Las Vegas. A fashion show in New York. A 7,000-meter race around the Washington Monument that’ll coincide with a similar #Racefor7 event in Bengaluru and Mumbai, India. From Athens to Atlanta, from San Diego to Sydney, people across the globe will mark World Rare Disease…

University of Pennsylvania researchers used a component of rats’ muscle cell receptors to increase the punch of a myasthenia gravis treatment derived from an electric ray — an ocean animal that administers a shock like an electric eel. The team’s immune system suppression strategy alleviated the disease in rats and prevented…

The results of a Phase 3 clinical trial are challenging the long-held notion that the same thymus gland mechanism is behind all early-onset cases of the muscle wasting disease myasthenia gravis, researchers report. The team’s article about the subject appeared in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. It…

David Curtis Glebe, a retired 64-year-old public prosecutor now living in Millsboro, Delaware, knows he’s lucky to be alive. In mid-2013, while in Arizona, Glebe was diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer (PNET) — the same disease that killed Apple’s founder and CEO Steve Jobs. After three years of progress…

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…

Researchers report that two autoantibodies found in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) may cause the disease in a subgroup of patients. These autoantibodies might also serve as biomarkers, indicating that MG is a complex disease with different causes. The review article, titled “Agrin and LRP4 antibodies as new…