Nephrology Section, Forsyth Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Am J Case Rep. 2020 May 17;21:e921431. doi: 10.12659/AJCR.921431.
BACKGROUND The effectiveness of eculizumab (a terminal complement inhibitor) in acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody-negative generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) is unknown. CASE REPORT A female patient was diagnosed with AChR-antibody and muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) antibody-negative gMG in March 2016. In January 2017, the patient was referred for plasma exchange (PLEX) because of continuing symptoms. She was also receiving azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, and pyridostigmine (all were continued during subsequent therapies). PLEX (5 sessions over 10 days) was initially effective, but over the following month the patient received PLEX weekly, then twice weekly, followed by 3-times weekly because of worsening symptoms. In April 2018, PLEX was reduced to twice weekly following initiation of eculizumab (weekly induction dose of 900 mg 1 day after first PLEX, plus 600 mg on the day of the second PLEX session, for 4 weeks). The patient was then stabilized on eculizumab 1200 mg every 2 weeks and the frequency of PLEX treatment was reduced, until PLEX was discontinued at Week 39 after eculizumab initiation. During eculizumab treatment, the patient's myasthenia gravis activities of daily living (MG-ADL) score decreased from 9 to 1 or 2 at most assessments, with a transient increase to 4 or 5 between Weeks 19 and 27 following less frequent eculizumab treatment. There were no eculizumab-related adverse events. CONCLUSIONS Following transition from 3-times weekly PLEX to eculizumab in a patient with treatment-refractory, AChR antibody- and MuSK antibody-negative gMG, there were clinically significant improvements in everyday activities affected by MG symptoms. Further investigation of eculizumab in antibody-negative MG is required.
依库珠单抗(一种末端补体抑制剂)在乙酰胆碱受体(AChR)抗体阴性的全身性重症肌无力(gMG)中的疗效尚不清楚。
一名女性患者于 2016 年 3 月被诊断为 AChR 抗体和肌肉特异性激酶(MuSK)抗体阴性的 gMG。2017 年 1 月,由于症状持续存在,该患者接受了血浆置换(PLEX)治疗。她还在接受硫唑嘌呤、霉酚酸酯和吡啶斯的明(在随后的治疗中均继续使用)。PLEX(10 天内 5 次)最初有效,但在接下来的一个月内,由于症状恶化,患者每周接受 PLEX 治疗,然后每两周接受一次,接着每三周接受两次。2018 年 4 月,在开始依库珠单抗治疗后(第 1 次 PLEX 后第 1 天给予 900mg 每周诱导剂量,第 2 次 PLEX 当天给予 600mg,共 4 周),将 PLEX 减少至每两周一次。此后,该患者接受依库珠单抗 1200mg 每两周 1 次治疗并稳定,同时减少 PLEX 治疗频率,直至依库珠单抗治疗开始后第 39 周停用 PLEX。在依库珠单抗治疗期间,患者的重症肌无力日常生活活动(MG-ADL)评分从大多数评估的 9 分降至 1 分或 2 分,在依库珠单抗治疗频率降低后的第 19 周至 27 周之间短暂增加至 4 分或 5 分。没有依库珠单抗相关的不良事件。
在治疗抵抗、AChR 抗体和 MuSK 抗体阴性的 gMG 患者中,从每周 3 次 PLEX 转为依库珠单抗治疗后,日常活动受 MG 症状影响的程度有了显著的临床改善。需要进一步研究依库珠单抗在抗体阴性 MG 中的作用。