Pharmacological Management of Myasthenia Gravis: A Century of Expert Opinions in Cecil Textbook of Medicine

Abstract

Background: Advances in drug therapy for myasthenia gravis have had a significant impact on the quality of life and work potential of a substantial majority of affected persons and has contributed to a remarkable decrease in the frequency and severity of complications, hospitalizations, and mortality.

Study question: What are the milestones of the changes in the expert approach to the pharmacological management of myasthenia in the past century?

Study design: To determine the changes in the experts' approach to the management of myasthenia gravis, as presented in a widely used textbook in the United States.

Data sources: The chapters presenting the management of myasthenia gravis in the 26 editions of Cecil Textbook of Medicine published from 1927 to 2020.

Results: Adequate feeding, absolute rest in bed, and "tonics" were the only interventions recommended for the care of patients with myasthenia gravis in 1927. Ephedrine and glycine were used in the early 1930s. Treatment with the anticholinesterases physostigmine and neostigmine was recommended in 1937, 3 years after Mary Walker discovered it in the United Kingdom. Immunosuppressant pharmacological interventions with prednisone and azathioprine have been considered the standard since 1975, and intravenous immune globulin was added to usual care in 1996. The newer immunosuppressant drugs mycophenolate, cyclosporine, and tacrolimus have expanded the arsenal since 2008, and the monoclonal antibodies rituximab and eculizumab have been mentioned in the textbooks published in 2012-2020. The first randomized clinical trial of drug therapy for myasthenia gravis was published in 1987.

Conclusions: The pharmacological management of myasthenia gravis was revolutionized by the epiphany of an astute clinician in the 1930s. Immunosuppressant treatment was a logical step once the autoimmune nature of the condition was established. The major therapeutic advances highlight the values of empiricism and persistent attention to detail in treating relatively rare chronic disorders.