References
- Meriggioli MN, Sanders DB. Autoimmune myasthenia gravis: emerging clinical and biological heterogeneity. Lancet Neurol. 2009;8(5):475–490.
- Gilhus NE. Myasthenia and the neuromuscular junction. Curr Opin Neurol. 2012;25(5):523–529.
- Querol L, Illa I. Myasthenia gravis and the neuromuscular junction. Curr Opin Neurol. 2013;26(5):459–465.
- Verschuuren JJGM, Huijbers MG, Plomp JJ, et al. Pathophysiology of myasthenia gravis with antibodies to the acetylcholine receptor, muscle-specific kinase and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4. Autoimmun Rev. 2013;12(9):918–923.
- Zisimopoulou P, Brenner T, Trakas N, et al. Serological diagnostics in myasthenia gravis based on novel assays and recently identified antigens. Autoimmun Rev. 2013;12(9):924–930.
- Gilhus NE, Verschuuren JJ. Myasthenia gravis: subgroup classification and therapeutic strategies. Lancet Neurol. 2015;14(10):1023–1036.
- Binks S, Vincent A, Palace J. Myasthenia gravis: a clinical-immunological update. J Neurol. 2016;263(4):826–834.
- Sanders DB, Wolfe GI, Benatar M, et al. International consensus guidance for management of myasthenia gravis: executive summary. Neurology. 2016;87(4):419–425.
- Skeie GO, Apostolski S, Evoli A, et al. Guidelines for treatment of autoimmune neuromuscular transmission disorders. Eur J Neurol. 2010;17(7):893–902.
- Owe JF, Daltveit AK, Gilhus NE. Causes of death among patients with myasthenia gravis in Norway between 1951 and 2001. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2006;77(2):203–207.
- Suh J, Goldstein JM, Nowak RJ. Clinical characteristics of refractory myasthenia gravis patients. Yale J Biol Med. 2013;86(2):255–260.
- Heldal AT, Owe JF, Gilhus NE, et al. Seropositive myasthenia gravis: a nationwide epidemiologic study. Neurology. 2009;73(2):150–151.
- Andersen JB, Engeland A, Owe JF, et al. Myasthenia gravis requiring pyridostigmine treatment in a national population cohort. Eur J Neurol. 2010;17(12):1445–1450.
- Carr AS, Cardwell CR, McCarron PO, et al. A systematic review of population based epidemiological studies in Myasthenia Gravis. BMC Neurol. 2010;10:46.
- Pakzad Z, Aziz T, Oger J. Increasing incidence of myasthenia gravis among elderly in British Columbia, Canada. Neurology. 2011;76(17):1526–1528.
- Phillips LH, Torner JC. Epidemiologic evidence for a changing natural history of myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 1996;47(5):1233–1238.
- Poulas K, Tsibri E, Kokla A, et al. Epidemiology of seropositive myasthenia gravis in Greece. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2001;71(3):352–356.
- Vincent A, Clover L, Buckley C, et al. UK Myasthenia Gravis Survey. Evidence of underdiagnosis of myasthenia gravis in older people. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003;74(8):1105–1108.
- Murai H, Yamashita N, Watanabe M, et al. Characteristics of myasthenia gravis according to onset-age: Japanese nationwide survey. J Neurol Sci. 2011;305(1–2):97–102.
- Somnier FE. Increasing incidence of late-onset anti-AChR antibody-seropositive myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 2005;65(6):928–930.
- Aarli JA. Myasthenia gravis in the elderly: is it different? Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2008;1132:238–243.
- Limburg PC, The TH, Hummel-Tappel E, et al. Anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies in myasthenia gravis. Part 1. Relation to clinical parameters in 250 patients. J Neurol Sci. 1983;58(3):357–370.
- Mantegazza R, Pareyson D, Baggi F, et al. Anti AChR antibody: relevance to diagnosis and clinical aspects of myasthenia gravis. Ital J Neurol Sci. 1988;9(2):141–145.
- Witebsky E, Rose NR, Terplan K, et al. Chronic thyroiditis and autoimmunization. J Am Med Assoc. 1957;164(13):1439–1447.
- Toyka KV, Brachman DB, Pestronk A, et al. Myasthenia gravis: passive transfer from man to mouse. Science. 1975;190(4212):397–399.
- Cole RN, Reddel SW, Gervásio OL, et al. Anti-MuSK patient antibodies disrupt the mouse neuromuscular junction. Ann Neurol. 2008;63(6):782–789.
- Leite MI, Jacob S, Viegas S, et al. IgG1 antibodies to acetylcholine receptors in “seronegative” myasthenia gravis. Brain J Neurol. 2008;131(Pt 7):1940–1952.
- Tsonis AI, Zisimopoulou P, Lazaridis K, et al. MuSK autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis detected by cell based assay–A multinational study. J Neuroimmunol. 2015;284:10–17.
- Jacob S, Viegas S, Leite MI, et al. Presence and pathogenic relevance of antibodies to clustered acetylcholine receptor in ocular and generalized myasthenia gravis. Arch Neurol. 2012;69(8):994–1001.
- Gilhus NE, Skeie GO, Romi F, et al. Myasthenia gravis - autoantibody characteristics and their implications for therapy. Nat Rev Neurol. 2016;12(5):259–268.
- Unwin N. Refined structure of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at 4A resolution. J Mol Biol. 2005;346(4):967–989.
- Kordas G, Lagoumintzis G, Sideris S, et al. Direct proof of the in vivo pathogenic role of the AChR autoantibodies from myasthenia gravis patients. PloS One. 2014;9(9):e108327.
- Heldal AT, Eide GE, Romi F, et al. Repeated acetylcholine receptor antibody-concentrations and association to clinical myasthenia gravis development. PloS One. 2014;9(12):e114060.
- Niks EH, Kuks JBM, Verschuuren JJGM. Epidemiology of myasthenia gravis with anti-muscle specific kinase antibodies in The Netherlands. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2007;78(4):417–418.
- Koneczny I, Cossins J, Vincent A. The role of muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) and mystery of MuSK myasthenia gravis. J Anat. 2014;224(1):29–35.
- McConville J, Farrugia ME, Beeson D, et al. Detection and characterization of MuSK antibodies in seronegative myasthenia gravis. Ann Neurol. 2004;55(4):580–584.
- Huijbers MG, Zhang W, Klooster R, et al. MuSK IgG4 autoantibodies cause myasthenia gravis by inhibiting binding between MuSK and Lrp4. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2013;110(51):20783–20788.
- Plomp JJ, Huijbers MG, Van Der Maarel SM, et al. Pathogenic IgG4 subclass autoantibodies in MuSK myasthenia gravis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2012;1275:114–122.
- Chang T, Leite MI, Senanayake S, et al. Clinical and serological study of myasthenia gravis using both radioimmunoprecipitation and cell-based assays in a South Asian population. J Neurol Sci. 2014;343(1–2):82–87.
- Kawakami Y, Ito M, Hirayama M, et al. Anti-MuSK autoantibodies block binding of collagen Q to MuSK. Neurology. 2011;77(20):1819–1826.
- Bartoccioni E, Scuderi F, Minicuci GM, et al. Anti-MuSK antibodies: correlation with myasthenia gravis severity. Neurology. 2006;67(3):505–507.
- Niks EH, van Leeuwen Y, Leite MI, et al. Clinical fluctuations in MuSK myasthenia gravis are related to antigen-specific IgG4 instead of IgG1. J Neuroimmunol. 2008;195(1–2):151–156.
- Hoch W, McConville J, Helms S, et al. Auto-antibodies to the receptor tyrosine kinase MuSK in patients with myasthenia gravis without acetylcholine receptor antibodies. Nat Med. 2001;7(3):365–368.
- Higuchi O, Hamuro J, Motomura M, et al. Autoantibodies to low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 in myasthenia gravis. Ann Neurol. 2011;69(2):418–422.
- Zisimopoulou P, Evangelakou P, Tzartos J, et al. A comprehensive analysis of the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of anti-LRP4 in myasthenia gravis. J Autoimmun. 2014;52:139–145.
- Yumoto N, Kim N, Burden SJ. Lrp4 is a retrograde signal for presynaptic differentiation at neuromuscular synapses. Nature. 2012;489(7416):438–442.
- Pevzner A, Schoser B, Peters K, et al. Anti-LRP4 autoantibodies in AChR- and MuSK-antibody-negative myasthenia gravis. J Neurol. 2012;259(3):427–435.
- Zhang B, Tzartos JS, Belimezi M, et al. Autoantibodies to lipoprotein-related protein 4 in patients with double-seronegative myasthenia gravis. Arch Neurol. 2012;69(4):445–451.
- Tzartos JS, Zisimopoulou P, Rentzos M, et al. LRP4 antibodies in serum and CSF from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2014;1(2):80–87.
- Witzemann V, Chevessier F, Pacifici PG, et al. The neuromuscular junction: selective remodeling of synaptic regulators at the nerve/muscle interface. Mech Dev. 2013;130(6–8):402–411.
- Gasperi C, Melms A, Schoser B, et al. Anti-agrin autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 2014;82(22):1976–1983.
- Zhang B, Shen C, Bealmear B, et al. Autoantibodies to agrin in myasthenia gravis patients. PloS One. 2014;9(3):e91816.
- Cossins J, Belaya K, Zoltowska K, et al. The search for new antigenic targets in myasthenia gravis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2012;1275:123–128.
- Zoltowska Katarzyna M, Belaya K, Leite M, et al. Collagen Q–a potential target for autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis. J Neurol Sci. 2015;348(1–2):241–244.
- Otsuka K, Ito M, Ohkawara B, et al. Collagen Q and anti-MuSK autoantibody competitively suppress agrin/LRP4/MuSK signaling. Sci Rep. 2015;5:13928.
- Powers K, Schappacher-Tilp G, Jinha A, et al. Titin force is enhanced in actively stretched skeletal muscle. J Exp Biol. 2014;217(Pt 20):3629–3636.
- Aarli JA. Late-onset myasthenia gravis: a changing scene. Arch Neurol. 1999;56(1):25–27.
- Gautel M, Lakey A, Barlow DP, et al. Titin antibodies in myasthenia gravis: identification of a major immunogenic region of titin. Neurology. 1993;43(8):1581–1585.
- Skeie GO, Mygland A, Aarli JA, et al. Titin antibodies in patients with late onset myasthenia gravis: clinical correlations. Autoimmunity. 1995;20(2):99–104.
- Romi F, Skeie GO, Aarli JA, et al. The severity of myasthenia gravis correlates with the serum concentration of titin and ryanodine receptor antibodies. Arch Neurol. 2000;57(11):1596–1600.
- Szczudlik P, Szyluk B, Lipowska M, et al. Antititin antibody in early- and late-onset myasthenia gravis. Acta Neurol Scand. 2014;130(4):229–233.
- Mygland A, Aarli JA, Matre R, et al. Ryanodine receptor antibodies related to severity of thymoma associated myasthenia gravis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1994;57(7):843–846.
- Romi F, Skeie GO, Gilhus NE, et al. Striational antibodies in myasthenia gravis: reactivity and possible clinical significance. Arch Neurol. 2005;62(3):442–446.
- Alkhawajah NM, Oger J. Late-onset myasthenia gravis: a review when incidence in older adults keeps increasing. Muscle Nerve. 2013;48(5):705–710.
- Gronseth GS, Barohn RJ. Practice parameter: thymectomy for autoimmune myasthenia gravis (an evidence-based review): report of the quality standards subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology. 2000;55(1):7–15.
- Wolfe GI, Kaminski HJ, Aban IB, et al. Randomized trial of thymectomy in Myasthenia Gravis. N Engl J Med. 2016;375(6):511–522.
- Tsinzerling N, Lefvert A-K, Matell G, et al. Myasthenia gravis: a long term follow-up study of Swedish patients with specific reference to thymic histology. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2007;78(10):1109–1112.
- Marx A, Pfister F, Schalke B, et al. The different roles of the thymus in the pathogenesis of the various myasthenia gravis subtypes. Autoimmun Rev. 2013;12(9):875–884.
- Bernard C, Frih H, Pasquet F, et al. Thymoma associated with autoimmune diseases: 85 cases and literature review. Autoimmun Rev. 2016;15(1):82–92.
- Guptill JT, Sanders DB, Evoli A. Anti-MuSK antibody myasthenia gravis: clinical findings and response to treatment in two large cohorts. Muscle Nerve. 2011;44(1):36–40.
- Evoli A, Tonali PA, Padua L, et al. Clinical correlates with anti-MuSK antibodies in generalized seronegative myasthenia gravis. Brain J Neurol. 2003;126(Pt 10):2304–2311.
- Kerty E, Elsais A, Argov Z, et al. EFNS/ENS Guidelines for the treatment of ocular myasthenia. Eur J Neurol. 2014;21(5):687–693.
- Wong SH, Petrie A, Plant GT. Ocular Myasthenia Gravis: toward a risk of generalization score and sample size calculation for a randomized controlled trial of disease modification. J Neuro-Ophthalmol Off J North Am Neuro-Ophthalmol Soc. 2016;36(3):252–258.
- Sommer N, Sigg B, Melms A, et al. Ocular myasthenia gravis: response to long-term immunosuppressive treatment. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1997;62(2):156–162.
- Melzer N, Ruck T, Fuhr P, et al. Clinical features, pathogenesis, and treatment of myasthenia gravis: a supplement to the guidelines of the German Neurological Society. J Neurol. 2016;263(8):1473–1494.
- Mehndiratta MM, Pandey S, Kuntzer T. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor treatment for myasthenia gravis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011;2:CD006986.
- Punga AR, Flink R, Askmark H, et al. Cholinergic neuromuscular hyperactivity in patients with myasthenia gravis seropositive for MuSK antibody. Muscle Nerve. 2006;34(1):111–115.
- Evoli A, Bianchi MR, Riso R, et al. Response to therapy in myasthenia gravis with anti-MuSK antibodies. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2008;1132:76–83.
- LL 68-ll-diagnostik und therapie der Myasthenia gravis und des Lambert-Eaton-Syndroms [Internet]. [cited 2015 June 29]. Available from: http://www.dgn.org/leitlinien/3005-ll-68-ll-diagnostik-und-therapie-der-myasthenia-gravis-und-des-lambert-eaton-syndroms
- Hart IK, Sathasivam S, Sharshar T. Immunosuppressive agents for myasthenia gravis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007;4:CD005224.
- Benatar M, Kaminski H. Medical and surgical treatment for ocular myasthenia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;12:CD005081.
- Pascuzzi RM, Coslett HB, Johns TR. Long-term corticosteroid treatment of myasthenia gravis: report of 116 patients. Ann Neurol. 1984;15(3):291–298.
- Schneider-Gold C, Gajdos P, Toyka KV, et al. Corticosteroids for myasthenia gravis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005;2:CD002828.
- Romi F, Bø L, Skeie GO, et al. Titin and ryanodine receptor epitopes are expressed in cortical thymoma along with costimulatory molecules. J Neuroimmunol. 2002;128(1–2):82–89.
- Benatar M, Sanders DB, Wolfe GI, et al. Design of the efficacy of prednisone in the treatment of ocular myasthenia (EPITOME) trial. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2012;1275:17–22.
- Bae JS, Go SM, Kim BJ. Clinical predictors of steroid-induced exacerbation in myasthenia gravis. J Clin Neurosci Off J Neurosurg Soc Australas. 2006;13(10):1006–1010.
- Seybold ME, Drachman DB. Gradually increasing doses of prednisone in myasthenia gravis. Reducing the hazards of treatment. N Engl J Med. 1974;290(2):81–84.
- Arsura E, Brunner NG, Namba T, et al. High-dose intravenous methylprednisolone in myasthenia gravis. Arch Neurol. 1985;42(12):1149–1153.
- Lindberg C, Andersen O, Lefvert AK. Treatment of myasthenia gravis with methylprednisolone pulse: a double blind study. Acta Neurol Scand. 1998;97(6):370–373.
- Benatar M, Mcdermott MP, Sanders DB, et al. Efficacy of prednisone for the treatment of ocular myasthenia (EPITOME): A randomized, controlled trial. Muscle Nerve. 2016;53(3):363–369.
- Bromberg MB, Wald JJ, Forshew DA, et al. Randomized trial of azathioprine or prednisone for initial immunosuppressive treatment of myasthenia gravis. J Neurol Sci. 1997;150(1):59–62.
- Mantegazza R, Antozzi C, Peluchetti D, et al. Azathioprine as a single drug or in combination with steroids in the treatment of myasthenia gravis. J Neurol. 1988;235(8):449–453.
- Mertens HG, Balzereit F, Leipert M. The treatment of severe myasthenia gravis with immunosuppressive agents. Eur Neurol. 1969;2(6):321–339.
- Palace J, Newsom-Davis J, Lecky B. A randomized double-blind trial of prednisolone alone or with azathioprine in myasthenia gravis. Myasthenia Gravis Study Group. Neurology. 1998;50(6):1778–1783.
- Hohlfeld R, Toyka KV, Besinger UA, et al. Myasthenia gravis: reactivation of clinical disease and of autoimmune factors after discontinuation of long-term azathioprine. Ann Neurol. 1985;17(3):238–242.
- Evoli A, Batocchi AP, Minisci C, et al. Clinical characteristics and prognosis of myasthenia gravis in older people. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2000;48(11):1442–1448.
- Rae W, Burke G, Pinto A. A study of the utility of azathioprine metabolite testing in myasthenia gravis. J Neuroimmunol. 2016;293:82–85.
- Heerasing NM, Ng JF, Dowling D. Does lymphopenia or macrocytosis reflect 6-thioguanine levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease treated with azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine? Intern Med J. 2016;46(4):465–469.
- Hohlfeld R, Michels M, Heininger K, et al. Azathioprine toxicity during long-term immunosuppression of generalized myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 1988;38(2):258–261.
- Witte AS, Cornblath DR, Schatz NJ, et al. Monitoring azathioprine therapy in myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 1986;36(11):1533–1533.
- Confavreux C, Saddier P, Grimaud J, et al. Risk of cancer from azathioprine therapy in multiple sclerosis: a case-control study. Neurology. 1996;46(6):1607–1612.
- O’Donovan P, Perrett CM, Zhang X, et al. Azathioprine and UVA light generate mutagenic oxidative DNA damage. Science. 2005;309(5742):1871–1874.
- Ostensen M, Brucato A, Carp H, et al. Pregnancy and reproduction in autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Rheumatol Oxf Engl. 2011;50(4):657–664.
- Norwood F, Dhanjal M, Hill M, et al. Myasthenia in pregnancy: best practice guidelines from a U.K. multispecialty working group. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2014;85(5):538–543.
- Sau A, Clarke S, Bass J, et al. Azathioprine and breastfeeding: is it safe? BJOG Int J Obstet Gynaecol. 2007;114(4):498–501.
- Francella A, Dyan A, Bodian C, et al. The safety of 6-mercaptopurine for childbearing patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a retrospective cohort study. Gastroenterology. 2003;124(1):9–17.
- Sanders DB, Hart IK, Mantegazza R, et al. An international, phase III, randomized trial of mycophenolate mofetil in myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 2008;71(6):400–406.
- Muscle Study Group. A trial of mycophenolate mofetil with prednisone as initial immunotherapy in myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 2008;71(6):394–399.
- Ciafaloni E, Massey JM, Tucker-Lipscomb B, et al. Mycophenolate mofetil for myasthenia gravis: an open-label pilot study. Neurology. 2001;56(1):97–99.
- Hehir MK, Burns TM, Alpers J, et al. Mycophenolate mofetil in AChR-antibody-positive myasthenia gravis: outcomes in 102 patients. Muscle Nerve. 2010;41(5):593–598.
- Hobson-Webb LD, Hehir M, Crum B, et al. Can mycophenolate mofetil be tapered safely in myasthenia gravis? A retrospective, multicenter analysis. Muscle Nerve. 2015;52(2):211–215.
- Oskarsson B, Rocke DM, Dengel K, et al. Myasthenia gravis exacerbation after discontinuing mycophenolate: A single-center cohort study. Neurology. 2016;86(12):1159–1163.
- Vernino S, Salomao DR, Habermann TM, et al. Primary CNS lymphoma complicating treatment of myasthenia gravis with mycophenolate mofetil. Neurology. 2005;65(4):639–641.
- Neff RT, Hurst FP, Falta EM, et al. Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and use of mycophenolate mofetil after kidney transplantation. Transplantation. 2008;86(10):1474–1478.
- Tindall RS, Phillips JT, Rollins JA, et al. A clinical therapeutic trial of cyclosporine in myasthenia gravis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1993;681:539–551.
- Tindall RS, Rollins JA, Phillips JT, et al. Preliminary results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of cyclosporine in myasthenia gravis. N Engl J Med. 1987;316(12):719–724.
- Heckmann JM, Rawoot A, Bateman K, et al. A single-blinded trial of methotrexate versus azathioprine as steroid-sparing agents in generalized myasthenia gravis. BMC Neurol. 2011;11:97.
- Evoli A, Di Schino C, Marsili F, et al. Successful treatment of myasthenia gravis with tacrolimus. Muscle Nerve. 2002;25(1):111–114.
- Konishi T, Yoshiyama Y, Takamori M, et al. Long-term treatment of generalised myasthenia gravis with FK506 (tacrolimus). J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2005;76(3):448–450.
- Minami N, Fujiki N, Doi S, et al. Five-year follow-up with low-dose tacrolimus in patients with myasthenia gravis. J Neurol Sci. 2011;300(1–2):59–62.
- Ponseti JM, Azem J, Fort JM, et al. Long-term results of tacrolimus in cyclosporine- and prednisone-dependent myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 2005;64(9):1641–1643.
- Yoshikawa H, Kiuchi T, Saida T, et al. Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of tacrolimus in myasthenia gravis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2011;82(9):970–977.
- Drachman DB, Adams RN, Hu R, et al. Rebooting the immune system with high-dose cyclophosphamide for treatment of refractory myasthenia gravis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2008;1132:305–314.
- Lin PT, Martin BA, Weinacker AB, et al. High-dose cyclophosphamide in refractory myasthenia gravis with MuSK antibodies. Muscle Nerve. 2006;33(3):433–435.
- De Feo LG, Schottlender J, Martelli NA, et al. Use of intravenous pulsed cyclophosphamide in severe, generalized myasthenia gravis. Muscle Nerve. 2002;26(1):31–36.
- Drachman DB, Jones RJ, Brodsky RA. Treatment of refractory myasthenia: “rebooting” with high-dose cyclophosphamide. Ann Neurol. 2003;53(1):29–34.
- Gladstone DE, Brannagan TH, Schwartzman RJ, et al. High dose cyclophosphamide for severe refractory myasthenia gravis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2004;75(5):789–791.
- Strober J, Cowan MJ, Horn BN. Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for refractory myasthenia gravis. Arch Neurol. 2009;66(5):659–661.
- Díaz-Manera J, Martínez-Hernández E, Querol L, et al. Long-lasting treatment effect of rituximab in MuSK myasthenia. Neurology. 2012;78(3):189–193.
- Keung B, Robeson KR, DiCapua DB, et al. Long-term benefit of rituximab in MuSK autoantibody myasthenia gravis patients. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2013;84(12):1407–1409.
- Iorio R, Damato V, Alboini PE, et al. Efficacy and safety of rituximab for myasthenia gravis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Neurol. 2015;262(5):1115–1119.
- Howard JF, Barohn RJ, Cutter GR, et al. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II study of eculizumab in patients with refractory generalized myasthenia gravis. Muscle Nerve. 2013;48(1):76–84.
- New Data from Phase 3 REGAIN Study of Eculizumab (Soliris®) in Patients with Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis (gMG) Presented at ICNMD Annual Congress |Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc [Internet]. [cited 2016 Jul 7]. Available from: http://news.alexionpharma.com/press-release/product-news/new-data-phase-3-regain-study-eculizumab-soliris-patients-refractory-gene
- A randomized, placebo controlled double blind study to evaluate the efficacy, safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamics of belimumab in subjects with generalized myasthenia gravis [Internet]. [cited 2016 Aug 12]. Available from: http://www.gsk-clinicalstudyregister.com/files2/gsk-115123-Clinical-Study-Result-Summary.pdf
- Gelfand EW. Intravenous immune globulin in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. N Engl J Med. 2012;367(21):2015–2025.
- Barth D, Nabavi Nouri M, Ng E, et al. Comparison of IVIg and PLEX in patients with myasthenia gravis. Neurology. 2011;76(23):2017–2023.
- Gajdos P, Chevret S, Toyka KV. Intravenous immunoglobulin for myasthenia gravis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;12:CD002277.
- Mandawat A, Kaminski HJ, Cutter G, et al. Comparative analysis of therapeutic options used for myasthenia gravis. Ann Neurol. 2010;68(6):797–805.
- Imbach P, Barandun S, d’Apuzzo V, et al. High-dose intravenous gammaglobulin for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in childhood. Lancet Lond Engl. 1981;1(8232):1228–1231.
- Gajdos P, Tranchant C, Clair B, et al. Treatment of myasthenia gravis exacerbation with intravenous immunoglobulin: a randomized double-blind clinical trial. Arch Neurol. 2005;62(11):1689–1693.
- Zinman L, Ng E, Bril V. IV immunoglobulin in patients with myasthenia gravis: a randomized controlled trial. Neurology. 2007;68(11):837–841.
- Buckley RH, Schiff RI. The use of intravenous immune globulin in immunodeficiency diseases. N Engl J Med. 1991;325(2):110–117.
- Michels H, Burmester G-R, Buttgereit F. [Intravenous immunoglobulins in chronic idiopathic myositis]. Z Für Rheumatol. 2005;64(2):102–110.
- Ame, A. N. Assessment of plasmapheresis. Report of the therapeutics and technology assessment subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology. 1996;47(3):840–843.
- Newsom-Davis J, Vincent A, Wilson SG, et al. [Plasmapheresis for myasthenia gravis]. N Engl J Med. 1978;298(8):456–457.
- Cortese I, Chaudhry V, So YT, et al. Evidence-based guideline update: plasmapheresis in neurologic disorders: report of the therapeutics and technology assessment subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology. 2011;76(3):294–300.
- Köhler W, Bucka C, Klingel R. A randomized and controlled study comparing immunoadsorption and plasma exchange in myasthenic crisis. J Clin Apheresis. 2011;26(6):347–355.
- Kurup A, Loehrer PJ. Thymoma and thymic carcinoma: therapeutic approaches. Clin Lung Cancer. 2004;6(1):28–32.
- Loehrer PJ, Wang W, Johnson DH, et al. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Phase II Trial. Octreotide alone or with prednisone in patients with advanced thymoma and thymic carcinoma: an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Phase II Trial. J Clin Oncol Off J Am Soc Clin Oncol. 2004;22(2):293–299.
- Marx A, Müller-Hermelink HK. From basic immunobiology to the upcoming WHO-classification of tumors of the thymus. The second conference on biological and clinical aspects of thymic epithelial tumors and related recent developments. Pathol Res Pract. 1999;195(8):515–533.
- Okumura M, Ohta M, Tateyama H, et al. 51. Cancer. 2002;94(3):624–632.
- Guillermo GR, Téllez-Zenteno JF, Weder-Cisneros N, et al. Response of thymectomy: clinical and pathological characteristics among seronegative and seropositive myasthenia gravis patients. Acta Neurol Scand. 2004;109(3):217–221.