Dataset Information

Remission of severe myasthenia gravis after autologous stem cell transplantation.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoantibody-mediated neuromuscular junction disorder involving the acetylcholine receptors on the motor endplate. The safety and response to high-dose chemotherapy (HDIT) and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) were assessed in a patient with severe refractory MG.

Methods

As part of a pilot study of HDIT/HCT for patients with treatment-resistant autoimmune neurological disorders, a patient with severe refractory MG underwent treatment. After mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells with rituximab, prednisone, and G-CSF, the patient had HDIT consisting of carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan, and rabbit antithymocyte globulin, followed by autologous HCT. The effect of treatment on the autoantibody to the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) was assessed.

Results

The patient had been diagnosed with AChR antibody-positive MG 14 years before HDIT/HCT and had failed thymectomy, therapeutic plasma exchange, and multiple immunomodulatory agents. The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) clinical classification was IVb before HDIT/HCT. She tolerated HDIT/HCT well and started to improve clinically within days of treatment. At both 1 and 2 years after HDIT/HCT, patients remained symptom-free. After HDIT/HCT, AChR-binding autoantibodies persisted, and the relative frequency of immune cell subtypes shifted.

Interpretation

HDIT/HCT induced a complete response of disease activity in a patient with severe refractory MG. This response may suggest that a cell-mediated etiology may be a significant contributing factor in refractory MG cases. A phase 2 clinical trial is warranted to establish if HDIT/HCT can be an effective therapy for severe refractory MG and to gain a further understanding of disease pathogenesis.

SUBMITTER: Schlatter MI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10646993 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Remission of severe myasthenia gravis after autologous stem cell transplantation.

Schlatter Monica I MI Yandamuri Soumya S SS O'Connor Kevin C KC Nowak Richard J RJ Pham Minh C MC Obaid Abeer H AH Redman Callee C Provost Marie M McSweeney Peter A PA Pearlman Michael L ML Tees Michael T MT Bowen James D JD Nash Richard A RA Georges George E GE

Annals of clinical and translational neurology 20230919 11

<h4>Objective</h4>Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoantibody-mediated neuromuscular junction disorder involving the acetylcholine receptors on the motor endplate. The safety and response to high-dose chemotherapy (HDIT) and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) were assessed in a patient with severe refractory MG.<h4>Methods</h4>As part of a pilot study of HDIT/HCT for patients with treatment-resistant autoimmune neurological disorders, a patient with severe refractory MG underwent ...[more]

PMID: 37726935

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Project description:BackgroundDespite current therapies, diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) often has a devastating outcome. We compared myeloablative CD34+ selected autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation with immunosuppression by means of 12 monthly infusions of cyclophosphamide in patients with scleroderma.MethodsWe randomly assigned adults (18 to 69 years of age) with severe scleroderma to undergo myeloablative autologous stem-cell transplantation (36 participants) or to receive cyclophosphamide (39 participants). The primary end point was a global rank composite score comparing participants with each other on the basis of a hierarchy of disease features assessed at 54 months: death, event-free survival (survival without respiratory, renal, or cardiac failure), forced vital capacity, the score on the Disability Index of the Health Assessment Questionnaire, and the modified Rodnan skin score.ResultsIn the intention-to-treat population, global rank composite scores at 54 months showed the superiority of transplantation (67% of 1404 pairwise comparisons favored transplantation and 33% favored cyclophosphamide, P=0.01). In the per-protocol population (participants who received a transplant or completed ≥9 doses of cyclophosphamide), the rate of event-free survival at 54 months was 79% in the transplantation group and 50% in the cyclophosphamide group (P=0.02). At 72 months, Kaplan-Meier estimates of event-free survival (74% vs. 47%) and overall survival (86% vs. 51%) also favored transplantation (P=0.03 and 0.02, respectively). A total of 9% of the participants in the transplantation group had initiated disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) by 54 months, as compared with 44% of those in the cyclophosphamide group (P=0.001). Treatment-related mortality in the transplantation group was 3% at 54 months and 6% at 72 months, as compared with 0% in the cyclophosphamide group.ConclusionsMyeloablative autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation achieved long-term benefits in patients with scleroderma, including improved event-free and overall survival, at a cost of increased expected toxicity. Rates of treatment-related death and post-transplantation use of DMARDs were lower than those in previous reports of nonmyeloablative transplantation. (Funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institutes of Health; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00114530 .).

Project description:IntroductionMyasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder caused by autoantibodies that target the neuromuscular junction, leading to muscle weakness and fatigability. Diagnosis is based on clinical presentation, confirmation of the presence of AChR-Ab, characteristic electromyography findings, and clinical improvement after administration of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.MG is often associated with thymoma and other autoimmune diseases, but it is rare following allo-HSCT.Case reportwe reports two rare cases of MG after transplantation, including the first case of post-transplantation double-antibody-positive MG. Patient 1 was a 45-year-old woman diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She underwent haploidentical allo-HSCT from a female donor (5/10 matching human leukocyte antigens [HLAs]) and developed graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after transplantation. At 42 months after transplantation, the patient developed episodic generalized weakness, dysarthria, dysphagia, and axial weakness. The serum anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies (AchR-Abs) level was > 20 nmol/L (normal range: < 0.4 nmol/L). She was diagnosed with MG type IIb according to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America classification. At 44 months post-transplantation, the patient began to experience episodic cramps, Electromyography (EMG) revealed a small number of fibrillation potentials with the right thumb extensor and the right anterior tibial muscle in a relaxed state, as well as spastic discharge, considered indicative of cramp-fasciculation syndrome (CFS). Improvement was seen following treatment with carbamazepine. Patient 2 was a 49-year-old man diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. He underwent haploidentical allo-HSCT from his son and did not develop GVHD. At 23 months post-transplant, the patient experienced recurrent diplopia, ptosis, axial weakness, and dyspnea. Neostigmine and repetitive nerve stimulation tests were positive, the level of anti-AChR IgG antibodies and MuSK receptor antibodies were positive, leading to a diagnosis of type IVb MG. The symptoms were mostly relieved after rituximab treatment.DiscussionThis article reports two rare cases of MG after transplantation, including the first case of post-transplantation double-antibody-positive MG, and reviews the general clinical characteristics of MG cases after allo-HSCT reported in previous literature. These cases enhance our understanding of MG following transplantation and add to the data on post-transplantation MG.

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Dataset Information

Remission of severe myasthenia gravis after autologous stem cell transplantation.

Objective

Methods

Results

Interpretation

Publications

Remission of severe myasthenia gravis after autologous stem cell transplantation.

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