Myasthenia gravis
RSS feedPost-hoc news on efgartigimod in anti-RACh myasthenia gravis
The phase III placebo-controlled Adapt trial and its open-label extension Adapt+ evaluated the efficacy of efgartigimod, an anti-FcRN, in generalised autoimmune myasthenia gravis. They ended in 2020 and 2022 respectively. Their results were the subject of a post hoc analysis, which showed that, in participants with anti-RACh : a significantly higher percentage of patients treated … [Read more]
Stamina analyses the treatment of myasthenia in ‘real life’ in France
Based on data from the French National Health Data System (SNDS), the Stamina study reviewed the management of two groups of adults with autoimmune myasthenia gravis: the ‘prevalent’ population, of 22,079 patients diagnosed before 31 December 2019, the ‘incident’ population, comprising 2,661 patients diagnosed in 2012 or 2013. A study of their follow-up shows that … [Read more]
Clinical and biological markers to differentiate between ocular and generalised forms of myasthenia gravis
Danish clinicians reviewed 350 records of patients with ocular or generalised forms of autoimmune myasthenia : clinical, electrophysiological and serological data were compiled and compared, 15.7% of patients had ocular myasthenia, the onset was later than in generalised forms, with lower levels of autoantibodies against the acetylcholine receptor (ARch), diagnostic odyssey was also longer, and … [Read more]
Ventilatory weaning and myasthenic crisis: the experience of Raymond Poincaré University Hospital
Clinicians in the western Ile-de-France region have retrospectively analyzed the clinical and paraclinical data of 126 myasthenia gravis patients who presented with a first myasthenic episode during the course of their disease, over the period 2001-2018: 18 of the 126 patients (i.e. 14%) could not be weaned off their ventilator after a first extubation attempt, … [Read more]
Subcutaneous route non-inferior to intravenous for efgartgimod in myasthenia gravis
In the Adapt-SC trial, 110 adults with generalised myasthenia gravis received a weekly subcutaneous (SC) or intravenous (IV) injection of efgartgimod (Vyvgart®) for 4 weeks. The results show : non-inferiority of the SC route over the IV route in terms of the percentage reduction in blood IgG levels (primary endpoint of the trial) ; a … [Read more]
Can efgartigimod also be used for myasthenic attacks?
Three publications published during the summer of 2024 report the use of efgartigimod (Vyvgart®), a neonatal anti-Fc receptor (FcRn), to treat acute decompensations of autoimmune myasthenia: these case reports from Japan and China concern a total of 14 patients aged between 26 and 76, with anti-RACh (13 cases) or anti-MuSK; efgartigimod contributed to the rapid … [Read more]
A comparison focusing on thymic histology between different cohorts of myasthenia gravis
Researchers at the Institute of Myology used a French database to compare early-onset (217) and classic forms of myasthenia (721): the files from this database were analysed clinically, immunologically and histologically (data from examination of the thymus when it had been removed), juvenile forms of myasthenia were subdivided into two groups according to age of … [Read more]
Real-life study confirms the place of eculizumab in myasthenia gravis
The retrospective multicentre ELEVATE study in the United States involved 14 myologists and neurologists who prescribed eculizumab to 119 of their patients suffering from Myasthenia Gravis, with anti-RACh in 97% of cases. This drug, prescribed most often for inadequate symptom control (82%) or poor tolerance of treatment (40%), resulted in: a significant reduction in the … [Read more]
Does thymectomy have harmful long-term consequences?
A retrospective study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine has raised the question of an increased long-term risk, in terms of cancer, autoimmune disease and mortality, after thymectomy as part of cardiothoracic surgery. In Neurology, international specialists in myasthenia (including a researcher from the Institute of Myology) and cardiothoracic surgery review what … [Read more]
n myasthenia gravis, thymectomy for thymoma gives good neurological results after the age of 65
A retrospective study carried out in two Italian expert centres in 66 patients aged over 65 with autoimmune myasthenia with thymoma, without anti-MuSK, showed : significant neurological improvement after thymectomy in 88% of patients, corresponding to a post-intervention MGFA status of stable complete remission (6% of cases), pharmacological remission (16.7%) or minimal manifestations (65.2%), no … [Read more]
