Looking to the future when MG makes me feel useless

“Useless, useless.” Those were the last words of President Abraham Lincoln’s murderer. After killing Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth fled Washington, D.C. A 12-day manhunt ensued. On April 26, 1865, federal troops cornered Booth in a northern Virginia barn. Military orders were to return him to Washington, D.C., for trial. Against…

Regulators in China approved Soliris (eculizumab) for adults with hard-to-treat (refractory) generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) who test positive for anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies. With this approval, Soliris is now the first complement inhibitor available to treat gMG in the country, according to AstraZeneca, the company that…

(Photos courtesy of Charles Boyd) This is Charles Boyd’s story: I have had two lives. Before myasthenia gravis (MG) changed everything, I was a hardworking, nonstop kind of guy. I worked a full-time job and I worked hard at a food pantry on my days off. After MG…

Composition of the fungal species present in the gut — known as the fungal gut microbiota — does not differ significantly between people with myasthenia gravis (MG) and those with other neurological disorders or healthy people. That’s according to an analysis of the fungal gut microbiota of participants in…

“You should drink celery juice and cleanse your body. It will cure you!” “I’m a distributor for this supplement company, and I know it will make you feel better and cure your autoimmune disease.” “Have you tried yoga?” These are the top three “cures” I’ve heard from usually well-meaning…

Josh with his wife, Keri. (Photos courtesy of Josh Gay) This is Josh Gay’s story: My name is Josh Gay, my wife, Keri, was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 2017, and I’m currently working on building an MG awareness vehicle out of my 1998 Toyota 4Runner. Because…

(Photo courtesy of Tanya Chiu) This is Tanya Chiu’s story: In the beginning of 2022, after two stressful years of COVID-19, I had to make the difficult decision to close my yoga studio. Also, my father in-law passed away and then my mom lost her battle to pancreatic…

The direct costs of myasthenia gravis (MG) are about four times higher than for the general population and even higher when disease symptoms worsen during an exacerbation, according to a study from Italy. The study, “Real world study on prevalence, treatment and economic burden of myasthenia gravis in…

A subset of immune cells called natural killer (NK) cells are elevated in the blood of myasthenia gravis (MG) patients with active disease symptoms, where they may promote an autoimmune response, according to a recent study. These cells, which house the CXCR5 protein on their surface, was linked to…

(Photo courtesy of Shawna Barnes) This is Shawna Barnes‘ story: While deployed to Iraq in 2010, I began having some weird health issues that started with seizures. Brain fog and tripping episodes followed while I was being medically retired out of the Army. In the spring of 2012,…