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Status of the Thymectomy Trial for Nonthymomatous Myasthenia Gravis Patients Receiving Prednisone
Author(s) -
NewsomDavis John,
Cutter Gary,
Wolfe Gil I.,
Kaminski Henry J.,
Jaretzki III Alfred,
Minisman Greg,
Aban Inmaculada,
Conwit Robin
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1405.014
Subject(s) - prednisone , myasthenia gravis , thymectomy , medicine , adverse effect , weakness , pediatrics , stroke (engine) , quality of life (healthcare) , surgery , mechanical engineering , nursing , engineering
The primary study [MGTX] aims to answer three questions: does extended transsternal thymectomy combined with the prednisone protocol, when compared with the prednisone protocol alone: (1) result in a greater improvement in myasthenic weakness, (2) result in a lower total dose of prednisone, thus decreasing the likelihood of concurrent and long‐term toxic effects, (3) enhance the quality of life by reducing adverse events and symptoms associated with the therapies? Inclusion criteria are MGFA Class 2, 3, or 4; acetylcholine receptor antibody positive; age at least 18.0 years and <60.0 years; MG history of <3 years. Patients can be prednisone naïve or not. The National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded funding for MGTX in September 2005, and NIH awarded funding for the ancillary Biomarkers study (BioMG) in February 2006. Diverse regulatory obstacles have been encountered in this international study, but we now have a total of over 70 centers in 22 countries (North America, South America, Europe, Australasia, South Africa) either actively recruiting or at various levels of readiness.