Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

Symposium 4

Calcineurin inhibitors and IVIg in the treatment of myasthenia gravis

Shunya Nakane, M.D.1)2)

1)Department of Clinical Research, Nagasaki Kawatana Medical Center
2)Department of Neurology, Nagasaki Kawatana Medical Center

Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) are immunomodulatory treatments used to treat patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). The objective of this study was to describe the clinical features of MG treated with CNIs or IVIg. To characterise the clinical features of myasthenic symptoms in MG treated with CNIs compared with MG treated without CNIs. Patients with MG (676 cases) underwent a multidisciplinary clinical examination (quantitative MG score for disease severity (QMG score), MG composite, etc), and we extensively reviewed the case histories with current clinical and laboratory evaluations. We confirmed CNIs were safe and effective in the treatment of MG in association with reduction of corticosteroids. IVIg have efficacy in reducing QMG score in patients with moderate to severe MG.
Full Text of this Article in Japanese PDF (581K)

(CLINICA NEUROL, 53: 1309|1311, 2013)
key words: myasthenia gravis (MG), calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs), intravenous immunoglobulin

(Received: 1-Jun-13)