Blog Archives

Pregnancy planning: an effective way to reduce the serious maternal complications associated with myasthenia gravis

A North American online study gathered 59 women who had 90 pregnancies in the decade following the diagnosis of autoimmune myasthenia : 62.2% of these happy events were planned, the remaining, unplanned pregnancies were accompanied by an increased risk of disease exacerbation (37.7% vs. 13.7%), hospitalization (26.5% vs. 11%) and maternal admission to intensive care … [Read more]

Publication of a review of the literature concerning neuromuscular complications in connection with vaccination against COVID-19

An Iranian team has carried out an exhaustive review of the literature to determine the extent and nature of neuromuscular complications linked, directly or indirectly, with the COVID-19 pandemic: from an initial extraction of 879 publications in several databases, 133 articles caught her attention, they corresponded to 258 individuals, including 171 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, … [Read more]

DYNE-101 trial in Steinert disease: preliminary results announced

Dyne Therapeutics, the company developing the antisense oligonucleotide DYNE-101 for Steinert disease, has published initial results from its ongoing ACHIEVE trial. This is a Phase I/II trial starting with a dose escalation phase. The treatment appears to be well tolerated at all three doses tested. Improvements in myotonia and in the Myotonic Dystrophy Health Index … [Read more]

ATL1102, an antisense oligonucleotide being tested against inflammation in DMD

CD49d production by CD49d+ T lymphocytes in diseased muscle contributes to increased inflammation, and its abundance is associated with greater severity of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The antisense oligonucleotide ATL1102 blocks CD49d production, as demonstrated in mdx mice. An open-label Phase II trial in 9 non-ambulant DMD patients aged between 10 and 18 years, treated for … [Read more]

Central nervous system complications in infantile forms of Pompe disease treated

American researchers followed children with early-onset Pompe disease on long-term enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). Six of them developed severe neurological complications: these complications appeared on average 12 years after the start of treatment, they were responsible for epilepsy, hyperreflexia and cognitive-developmental disorders, all suggestive of encephalopathy, which was consistently associated with significant white matter changes, … [Read more]

Robotic-assisted versus open thymectomy in myasthenia gravis with thymoma, Italian results

A multicenter retrospective study conducted in Italy on 213 patients with autoimmune myasthenia operated on between 2011 and 2021 for a thymoma, advanced stage (Masaoka-Koga III or IV) for 24 of them, shows that: 110 had an open thymectomy (sternotomy or lateral or posterolateral thoracotomy), the others a robot-assisted thymectomy; open surgery was associated with … [Read more]

Guidelines for good practice in respiratory care for DMD in the UK

To address the disparities that exist between the various specialist centres in the UK, a neuromuscular expert group made up of pulmonologists, neurologists, physiotherapists and patient representatives has drawn up good practice recommendations for the routine and emergency respiratory management of people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The recommendations have been endorsed by the British … [Read more]

 The experience of a French Neuromuscular Disease Reference Centre with patients suffering from collagenopathy

Analysis of the genetic and clinical data from a cohort of 25 patients, children and adults, with defects in the collagen VI (COL6A1-3) genes and followed up at the Marseille Neuromuscular Disease Reference Centre in France showed that : 5 had Ullrich-type muscular dystrophy, 15 had Bethlem myopathy and 5 had an intermediate form; 14 … [Read more]

The serological signature of certain types of myositis could be useful in establishing a pulmonary prognosis

British and Spanish researchers retrospectively analysed the profile of myositis-specific autoantibodies in a group of patients with inflammatory myopathy with associated pneumonitis (ILD-IMM) and in another where the patients had interstitial pneumonitis with autoimmune features (IPAF): 430 patients recruited in the UK and belonging mainly (80%) to the first group were included in the study, … [Read more]

Results of phase II trial of nipocalimab in myasthenia gravis published

Following an initial presentation at the 2021 American Academy of Neurology meeting, the final (and more moderate) results of the Vivacity-MG trial were published in the journal Neurology in January 2024 : 57 of the 68 participants completed 57 days of treatment with placebo or nipocalimab 5, 30 or 60 mg; the incidence of side-effects … [Read more]