Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28861121›Full record

ArticleTherapeutic advances in neurological disorders2017

Tacrolimus in the treatment of myasthenia gravis in patients with an inadequate response to glucocorticoid therapy: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted in China.

Lei Zhou, Weibin Liu, Wei Li, Haifeng Li, Xu Zhang, Huifang Shang, Xu Zhang, Bitao Bu, Hui Deng, Qi Fang and 11 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.8field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Long-term efficacy and safety of tacrolimus in anti-MuSK antibody-positive myasthenia gravis: a retrospective single-center cohort study.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Guideline for the management of myasthenic syndromes.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2023
    Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors at 16 institutions in 1 country.

Lei ZhouDepartment of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Weibin LiuDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Wei LiDepartment of Neurology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Shandong, China.
Haifeng LiDepartment of Neurology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Shandong, China.
Xu ZhangDepartment of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Medical College Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
Huifang ShangDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Sichuan, China.
Xu ZhangDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, China.
Bitao BuDepartment of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, China.
Hui DengDepartment of Neurology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Qi FangDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Jiangsu, China.
Jimei LiDepartment of Neurology, Beijing Friendship Hospital Affiliated to Capital University of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Hua ZhangDepartment of Neurology, Beijing Hospital, Beijing, China.
Zhi SongDepartment of Neurology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Changyi OuDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Chuanzhu YanDepartment of Neurology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Shandong, China.
Tao LiuDepartment of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Medical College Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
Hongyu ZhouDepartment of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Sichuan, China.
Jianhong BaoDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, China.
Jiahong LuDepartment of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Huawei ShiAstellas Pharma China, Inc., Beijing, China.
Chongbo ZhaoDepartment of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, 12 Wulumuqi Middle Rd, Shanghai, 200040, China.
Huashan Hospital · CNQilu Hospital of Shandong University · CNQingdao University · CNAstellas Pharma (China) · CNBeijing Friendship Hospital · CNBeijing Hospital · CNCentral South University · CNFirst Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University · CNFirst Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University · CNFirst Hospital of Jilin University · CNHuazhong University of Science and Technology · CNSichuan University · CNSun Yat-sen University · CNThe First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University · CNWenzhou Medical University · CNWest China Hospital of Sichuan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo determine the efficacy of low-dose, immediate-release tacrolimus in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) with inadequate response to glucocorticoid therapy in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

methodsEligible patients had inadequate response to glucocorticoids (GCs) after ⩾6 weeks of treatment with prednisone ⩾0.75 mg/kg/day or 60-100 mg/day. Patients were randomized to receive 3 mg tacrolimus or placebo daily (orally) for 24 weeks. Concomitant glucocorticoids and pyridostigmine were allowed. Patients continued GC therapy from weeks 1-4; from week 5, the dose was decreased at the discretion of the investigator. The primary efficacy outcome measure was a reduction, relative to baseline, in quantitative myasthenia gravis (QMG) score assessed using a generalized linear model; supportive analyses used alternative models.

resultsOf 138 patients screened, 83 [tacrolimus (

conclusionsTacrolimus 3 mg treatment for patients with MG and inadequate response to GCs did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint

Indexed as

immunologymyasthenia gravistacrolimus

Identifiers

PMID28861121
PMCPMC5557184
OpenAlexW2736536338

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.