Efficacy of low-dose FK506 in the treatment of myasthenia gravis - A randomized pilot study

To determine the efficacy of low- dose FK506 in the treatment of myasthenia gravis ( MG), untreated de novo patients were randomly selected to receive treatment with ( n = 18) or without ( n = 16) FK506, and were evaluated for 1 year after treatment with limitation of daily dose of prednisolone. Low- dose FK506 reduced the duration of early- phase therapy in hospital ( p < 0.05) and the need for combined therapy with plasmapheresis and high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone or high- dose intravenous methylprednisolone alone ( p ! 0.05). It also reduced the daily dose of prednisolone ( p ! 0.05) required to maintain minimal manifestations of MGFA postintervention status. None of the patients exhibited significant side effects up to 1 year after treatment. These findings suggest that low- dose FK506 is safe and efficacious for the treatment of de novo MG patients. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.