Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28921038›Full record

SynthesisJournal of neurology2017

Efficacy and safety of tacrolimus for myasthenia gravis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Liang Wang, Suxian Zhang, Jianying Xi, Wenhui Li, Lei Zhou, Jun Lu, Jiahong Lu, Tiansong Zhang, Chongbo Zhao

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of neurology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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

20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. 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
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Characteristics of myasthenia gravis in elderly patients: a retrospective study.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2022
    Article
  11. Current Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. [Clinical effect of tacrolimus in the treatment of myasthenia gravis in children].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2020
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Review
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

9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Liang WangDepartment of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, China.
Suxian ZhangDepartment of Chinese Traditional Medicine, Jing'an District Centre Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai, 200040, China.
Jianying XiDepartment of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, China.
Wenhui LiDepartment of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, China.
Lei ZhouDepartment of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, China.
Jun LuDepartment of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, China.
Jiahong LuDepartment of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, China.
Tiansong ZhangDepartment of Chinese Traditional Medicine, Jing'an District Centre Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai, 200040, China. ztsdoctor@126.com.
Chongbo ZhaoDepartment of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, China. zhao_chongbo@fudan.edu.cn.
Huashan Hospital · CNFudan University · CNShanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital · CNChildren's Hospital of Fudan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of tacrolimus in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. We searched PubMed and Embase for randomized controlled trials and clinical controlled trials in English language. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the MG patients were extracted. Differences in the current glucocorticoids (GC) dose in each included study were the primary outcome measure. The adverse events reported in each included study were used as safety evaluation. There were 5 trials included involving 683 patients. In this systematic review, we identified treatment with tacrolimus did not exhibit a statistically significant difference in the GC dose reduction at 6 months and 12 months compared with placebo. The standard mean differences in the GC dose reduction were -1.95 [(-4.20 to 0.30); p = 0.09] at 6 months and -1.72 [(-4.21 to 0.77); p = 0.18] at 12 months. But GC dose reduction from baseline in the tacrolimus group exceeded that in the controlled group. The weighted mean differences were -1.34 [(-2.46 to 0.23); p = 0.02] in the quantitative myasthenia gravis score and -1.10 [(-1.84 to -0.36); p = 0.004] in the myasthenia gravis activities of daily living score at 6 months. Adverse events were recorded in 80 of 347 patients (23%) treated with tacrolimus and most of them were mild. This meta-analysis proves that tacrolimus therapy is beneficial to improve clinical symptoms in MG patients. Tacrolimus may be a worthy therapy to relieve MG symptoms.

Indexed as

HumansImmunosuppressive AgentsMyasthenia GravisTacrolimusImmunosuppressive AgentsTacrolimusAntibodyImmunotherapyMyasthenia gravisTacrolimus

Identifiers

PMID28921038
OpenAlexW2982537032

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.