Myasthenia Gravis Treatment Updates

AbstractPurpose of reviewThis review presents an update of current treatment strategies for patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) depending on their clinical and immunological characteristics.Recent findingsNowadays, the available treatment options for MG are: (1) inhibitors of the acetylcholinesterase, useful as symptomatic treatment; (2) immunosuppressive drugs, the main treatment, initiated and escalated following international guidelines; (3) immunomodulatory drugs (intravenous immunoglobulin and plasma exchange), predominantly used in acute worsening or MG crisis; and (4) thymectomy, performed in patients with thymoma, and also in patients younger than 65  years with anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies and no thymoma, following the recommendations of a recent international clinical trial. MG is a heterogeneous disease, so the selection of treatments depends on the characteristics of the patient, being especially important, their immunological pro file. For instance, anti-MuSK positive patients respond extraordinarily to rituximab. Recently approved drugs, such as eculizumab and subcutaneous immunoglobulin, and ongoing clinical trials are discussed.SummaryThe prognosis of MG patients has improved remarkably due to a better understanding of the heterogeneity of the disease and the appearance of new therapeutic options and approaches. However, side effects are not infrequent and around 10% of patients are refractory to conventional treatments, showing the need to develop...
Source: Current Treatment Options in Neurology - Category: Neurology Source Type: research