Review Article

New and Emerging Treatment of Myasthenia gravis and The Prospects for Creating Novel Methods to Treat Autoimmune Disease

Naif M Alzahrani, Mishari Abdullah Alajery, Fahad Mohammed Alyousef, Ali saeed Al dossari, Nada Abdullah Alotaibi, Yazeed Mohammed Alyamni, Hind Saad Alareefi, Danah Ahmed Alshehri, Haya Mohammed Alqahtani, Ali Aaly Almalki, Mutaz Fahad Alluhaydan.

Author Information

Internal Medicine Department, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Medical Record Department, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Radiology Department, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Patient Education Department, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Dietetics Department, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Nursing Department, Primary health care, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Dirab, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Hemodialysis Care Project, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Address for Correspondence: Naif M Alzahrani, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Email: Alzahran12@hotmail.com

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

American Journal of Molecular Signaling

Abstract

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease that affects the postsynaptic membrane at the neuromuscular junction. The predominant manifestation is muscle weakness. In MG, cranial nerve-innervated muscles are frequently affected, resulting in a lack of facial expression, difficulty speaking, and weakness when swallowing. Autoantibodies that attach to substances at the postsynaptic membrane at the neuromuscular junction that are functionally significant are the cause of MG. Eighty percent of MG patients have detectable antibodies against the acetylcholine (ACh) receptor (AChR), whereas a tiny minority has antibodies against lipoprotein-receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) or muscle-specific kinase (MuSK). In 10–15% of patients with generalized MG, antibodies are not found; this is typically due to the assay's low sensitivity. MG is divided into categories based on thymus pathology, autoantibody pattern existence, age at onset, and clinical symptoms. The current medical interventions either result in nonspecific immunosuppression or are symptomatic. Although the pathogenesis of MG is well characterized and directly pathogenetic autoantibodies have been identified, treatments do not target the specific antibodies and usually do not induce a full remission without the need for further therapy. The current study reviews the medication use in MG treatment and clinical trials lead to authorizing this medication.

Keywords: Myasthenia gravis; Recent Treatment; Pathology of Myasthenia gravis.