Effective Early Treatment of AChR Antibody-Positive Myasthenia Gravis with Rituximab; the Experience from a Neuroimmunology Clinic in a Developing Country.
J Cent Nerv Syst Dis 2021;
13:11795735211016080. [PMID:
34045914 PMCID:
PMC8135199 DOI:
10.1177/11795735211016080]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Rituximab is reserved for treating refractory myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. Here we report our experience with rituximab in AChR antibody positive generalized MG (gMG) and impending myasthenic crisis (IMC).
Methods
This retrospective, observational study, conducted at a tertiary care, neuroimmunology clinic, analyzed the data of patients with AChR antibody positive gMG, treated with rituximab between 1st January 2016 and 30th October 2018.
Results
Eleven patients with AChR antibody positive gMG received rituximab. Mean age of the cohort was 50.54 ± 18.71 years with 9 males. Seven out of 11 patients received rituximab in the early stage (<2 years from onset) and had good response to treatment. Four of the 5 patients with IMC improved with rituximab alone. In the 10 patients who regularly followed up, there was a significant difference between the QMG scores at baseline and at 1, 2, 6, 12, and 18 months (P < .0001).
Conclusion
Rituximab appears to be a potentially effective early treatment option for AChR antibody positive generalized MG and impending myasthenic crisis.
Collapse