Dr James Howard on the Complications of Standard Myasthenia Gravis Therapies

Current myasthenia gravis therapies can create other complications, said James F. Howard Jr, MD, professor of neurology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, former chief of the Neuromuscular Disorders Division, and former James F. Howard Distinguished Professor of Neuromuscular Disease.

Transcript

Can comorbidities in myasthenia gravis be worsened by current therapies such as prednisone, for example?

Yes. I mean, with prednisone, we worry about the development of diabetes, of hypertension, osteopenia and osteoporosis—thinning of the bones, if you will—to say nothing of the mood changes that people experience when they take this drug. Other drugs have the potential to impact the liver, for instance. Others have potential impact on the ability to form blood cells. Not every patient experiences them, and some patients are successfully treated with very minimal side effects. But in the whole, in the majority, these happen to such a degree that we don't like them and we need to find better.