Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by fluctuating muscle weakness, which, in the majority of patients, is treated with corticosteroids. In a recently published clinical trial, 50 patients with generalized MG were randomly assigned to prednisone + methotrexate or prednisone + placebo. The amount of prednisone that the patients used over 12 months did not differ between the methotrexate and placebo groups, indicating that this drug does not have a steroid-sparing effect in patients with MG.
References
Pasnoor, M. et al. A randomized controlled trial of methotrexate for patients with generalized myasthenia gravis. Neurology http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000002795 (2016)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Methotrexate has no steroid-sparing effect in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis. Nat Rev Neurol 12, 430 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.103
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.103