Use of rituximab in muscle-specific tyrosine kinase antibody-positive myasthenia gravis: Preliminary observations from a tertiary care center in Northern India

Abstract

Objectives: Approximately 10%-15% of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) are refractory to standard treatment. A sizable chunk of these patients is due to muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) antibody-positive MG which often runs a severe course with frequent relapses and poor response to conventional treatment. We report six patients with refractory MuSK-positive MG who responded well to the treatment with rituximab.

Patients and methods: In this prospective institute-based observational study, we report six MuSK antibody-positive MG patients, who did not achieve remission with standard treatment and were later started on rituximab infusion.

Results: There was a significant clinical improvement in all patients after starting rituximab.

Conclusion: Rituximab is an effective immunomodulatory therapy in MuSK antibody-positive MG patients who are not responding to the standard treatment.

Keywords: Muscle-specific tyrosine kinase antibodies; myasthenia; rituximab.