News

Biological agents that target inflammation-generating immune cells and signaling molecules could be used to treat myasthenia gravis, French researchers report. Biologics have helped people with other autoimmune diseases, so they might be able to restore balance to MG patients’ immune system, the team said. MG stems from an imbalance between…

This week marks the launch of the “7,000 Mile Rare Movement,” a nationwide effort to raise money for research into the 7,000 known rare diseases that afflict at least 30 million Americans. The campaign kicks off Feb. 1 and culminates with Rare Disease Day on Feb. 28. Organized by…

Combining a traditional Chinese medicine known as Qi supplement formula with conventional therapy shows short-term benefits in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients, researchers in China report. But more studies of better quality are needed to support these observations, they stressed. Their study, “Efficacy and Safety of the TCM Qi-Supplementing Therapy…

Researchers in France are recruiting patients for a study to assess the effect of a moderate home-based exercise program on the quality of life and fitness of myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. The study “The benefits and tolerance of exercise in myasthenia gravis (MGEX): study protocol for a randomised…

Japanese researchers wrote about a myasthenia gravis (MG) patient who showed long-term improvement in disease symptoms after he was treated with blood purification therapy. The case report, “A Case of Anti-MuSK Antibody-positive Myasthenia Gravis Successfully Treated With Outpatient Periodic Weekly Blood Purification Therapy,” appeared in Internal Medicine, the journal…

Dosing has been completed in the Phase 1 clinical trial of GTP-004, a new candidate for the treatment of symptoms associated with myasthenia gravis (MG), including gastrointestinal side effects of pyridostigmine, the investigational therapy’s developer, GT Biopharma, announced. Preliminary results suggest that GTP-004 enables the safe and well-tolerated administration of…

Researchers have found that the long-term use of the immunosuppressive drug Prograf (tacrolimus) may contribute to the development of lymphoma in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). This finding resulted from a case report published in Internal Medicine, the journal of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine. Myasthenia gravis…

Women with a rare form of myasthenia gravis (MG) called muscle specific kinase (MuSK) MG can have healthy pregnancies without jeopardizing outcomes or increasing the risk of disease worsening, a small group study suggests. The study, “MuSK Myasthenia gravis and Pregnancy,” was published in the journal Neuromuscular Disorders.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals announced that it has received approval to market Soliris (eculizumab) in Japan as a treatment for certain adults with generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), according to a press release. That decision, by that country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, makes Soliris the first and only complement inhibitor…

Higher amounts of anti-acetylcholine receptor (AchR) antibodies in the blood before surgically removing the thymus could be a good predictor of outcomes for patients with myasthenia gravis, a study published in the Open Journal of Thoracic Surgery suggests. Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease characterized by the uncontrolled production…