Thymectomy is commonly performed in the treatment of myasthenia gravis, yet its benefit is unclear. A new randomized trial has shown that in patients with generalized nonthymomatous myasthenia gravis, thymectomy in combination with prednisone treatment is more effective than prednisone treatment alone. 126 patients were randomly assigned to the two treatment arms, and their average Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis score was assessed over a 3-year period. Those who underwent thymectomy had lower time-weighted average scores, and were less likely to require immunosuppression or hospitalization for disease exacerbations.
References
Wolfe, G. I. et al. Randomized trial of thymectomy in myasthenia gravis. N. Engl. J. Med. 375, 511–522 (2016)
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Fyfe, I. Benefit of thymectomy in myasthenia gravis. Nat Rev Neurol 12, 554 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.129
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.129