I’ve heard that as we age, we shouldn’t focus on the loss of youth but instead on the acceptance of new chapters. Frankly, it’s hard for me to agree with that because I’m having trouble coping with aging right now. I’ll be 50 in a few days, and it’s bumming…
People with generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) can carry certain types of self-reactive antibodies — proteins that mistakenly target the body’s own cells and tissues — that drive the disease but are treatment resistant, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers. These self-reactive antibodies, or autoantibodies,…
Last weekend, I attended a training course on a psychological model that explains how each of us has different personality types depending on the situation we’re in, with one usually being predominant. As I listened, I couldn’t help but link it to my experience with myasthenia gravis (MG). So…
Six years ago, I knew little about myasthenia gravis (MG) and nothing about COVID-19. I traveled, drove a high-end German car, and had a cleaning lady who kept things tidy. My lifestyle was definitely comfortable. However, I knew it wasn’t due to me being superior to anyone else. Like…
Treatment with gefurulimab, an experimental self-administered injection therapy, outperformed a placebo in easing symptoms of generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) among people with the chronic autoimmune disease, the results of a Phase 3 clinical trial show. The trial met both its primary and secondary endpoints, or goals, with treatment…
Note: This column was updated July 31, 2025, to clarify that the author fears temporary paralysis caused by severe muscle weakness, as opposed to a permanent paralysis. Yesterday, my brain and body collapsed because I was too tired and exhausted — not due to a myasthenia gravis (MG) flare-up…
A case report from Germany showed that two women with severe, treatment-resistant myasthenia gravis (MG) responded well to blinatumomab, suggesting the anti-cancer medication may offer a new option for hard-to-treat autoimmune diseases. “Since this first-in-human experience comprises two cases, our findings should be viewed as proof-of-concept rather than evidence…
When I was 8, I developed epilepsy and doctors prescribed me phenobarbital. For 24 years, I lived unaware of the drug’s side effects. My childhood and adolescence would have been very different without it, but I’m alive today thanks to the medication. Five years ago I was diagnosed with…
Stephen V. Smith makes his home in the Appalachian region of northeastern Alabama, where he writes about ways to pursue a rare life. He’s a husband, father, and pawpaw who loves his family, the arts, and nature. A former newspaper journalist, he built a communications agency, landed it on the…
Surgery to remove the thymus gland led to a long-term reduction in levels of immune T-cells and to temporary changes in levels of proteins involved in regulating immune and inflammatory responses in people with myasthenia gravis (MG), a study shows. There were no significant effects on the levels of…
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