Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39503950›Full record

ArticleNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2025

Long-term efficacy and safety of tacrolimus in anti-MuSK antibody-positive myasthenia gravis: a retrospective single-center cohort study.

Zhuajin Bi, Yue Li, Jing Lin, Mengcui Gui, Zhijun Li, Bitao Bu

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Article in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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.

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Zhuajin BiDepartment of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Yue LiDepartment of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Qiaokou District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
Jing LinDepartment of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Qiaokou District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
Mengcui GuiDepartment of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Qiaokou District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
Zhijun LiDepartment of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Qiaokou District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. lizhijun@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn.
Bitao BuDepartment of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Qiaokou District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. bubitao@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5369-7751

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of tacrolimus in patients with muscle-specific kinase antibody-positive myasthenia gravis (MuSK-MG).

methodsWe performed a retrospective, single-center, and cross-sectional study analyzing medical records of 18 MuSK-MG patients treated with tacrolimus for more than 1 year. The efficacy and safety of tacrolimus were evaluated by modified Osserman scale, Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America post-intervention status, prednisone dosage, quantitative MG (QMG) scores, MG-activity of daily living (MG-ADL) scores, anti-MuSK antibody titers, blood routine, and serum biochemicals.

resultsAfter 4 weeks of tacrolimus treatment, there was a significant improvement in prednisone dose, QMG, and MG-ADL scores, which continued to improve over 1 year. In addition, clinical grade of modified Osserman scale was improved in all patients, 16 (88.9%) of whom were asymptomatic at the last visit. More importantly, the mean titers of anti-MuSK antibody were significantly decreased from 0.777 ± 0.381 to 0.283 ± 0.178 nmol/L after a median of 1.4 years of tacrolimus treatment in 9 patients with MuSK-MG (P = 0.015). All patients achieved minimal manifestations status (MMS) after tacrolimus treatment (range, 4-32 weeks). Subsequently, seven patients (38.9%) underwent a taper of tacrolimus dosage. However, four patients (57.1%) experienced an exacerbation. Adverse events occurred in 2 patients (11.1%), all of which were mild and resolved after the tacrolimus dose was adjusted or discontinued.

conclusionOur results suggest that tacrolimus may be an effective and safe steroid-sparing treatment for patients with MuSK-MG. However, tacrolimus should be carefully tapered to avoid disease exacerbation.

Indexed as

AutoantibodiesImmunosuppressive AgentsMyasthenia GravisReceptor Protein-Tyrosine KinasesReceptors, CholinergicTacrolimusAdultAgedCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeAutoantibodiesImmunosuppressive AgentsMUSK protein, humanReceptor Protein-Tyrosine KinasesReceptors, CholinergicTacrolimusMuscle-specific kinaseMyasthenia gravisPrednisoneTacrolimus

Identifiers

PMID39503950

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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.