This case report describes a patient with a history of myasthenia gravis and thyoma who developed upper extremity myalgias and arthralgias after tapering prednisone.

Background:Zilucoplan, a peptide complement component 5 (C5) inhibitor, is self-administered as a subcutaneous (SC) injection, which offers an alternative to intravenous infusion of antibody-based complement C5 inhibitors. Objective:To evaluate subcutaneous zilucoplan in adults with acetylcholine receptor autoantibody-positive generalised myasthenia gravis (gMG) who switched from intravenous complement C5 inhibitors to zilucoplan. Design:MG0017 (NCT05514873) was a phase IIIb, open-label, single-arm study. Methods:Eligible patients had clinically stable gMG on an intravenous complement C5 inhibitor and were willing to switch to zilucoplan. Patients received a 12-week treatment period of daily subcutaneous zilucoplan 0.3 mg/kg. Incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) was the primary endpoint. Change from baseline in the Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) score at Week 12 was a secondary endpoint. Treatment preference (Week 12) and treatment satisfaction (9-item Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM-9)) were both exploratory endpoints. Assessments by prior intravenous complement C5 inhibitor were conducted post hoc. Results:Twenty-six patients enrolled and received zilucoplan; 16 switched from eculizumab and 10 from ravulizumab. TEAEs occurred in 19/26 (73.1%) patients and were mostly mild in severity. At Week 12, least squares (LS) mean (95% confidence interval) MG-ADL scores improved from baseline by -1.15 (-2.11, -0.19), p = 0.0217 and Quantitative MG (QMG) scores by -1.24 (-2.64, 0.16), p = 0.0802. Clinically meaningful improvement from baseline in mean MG-ADL and QMG scores was observed at Week 12 among patients who switched from ravulizumab (-2.41 (-4.52, -0.30; p = 0.0307) and -3.52 (-6.14, -0.90; p = 0.0149), respectively). At Week 12, 76.9% (n = 20) patients preferred subcutaneous injection compared with intravenous infusion. Mean (standard deviation) changes from baseline in the TSQM-9 Global Satisfaction, Effectiveness and Convenience subscores at Week 12 were +19.410 (27.429), +13.889 (21.534) and +21.739 (19.955), respectively. Complement inhibition increased from baseline and was complete (>95%) by Week 2 and maintained to Week 12. Conclusion:Zilucoplan demonstrated a favourable safety profile. gMG symptoms improved during zilucoplan treatment; this was clinically meaningful for those switching from ravulizumab. Trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05514873); 22 August 2022. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05514873.

Background: RAISE-XT (NCT04225871; Phase 3 study) showed clinically meaningful and sustained improvements in myasthenia gravis (MG)-specific outcomes with zilucoplan, a macrocyclic peptide complement component 5 inhibitor, in patients with acetylcholine receptor autoantibody-positive generalised MG. Methods: Adults self-administered once-daily subcutaneous zilucoplan 0.3mg/kg. This post hoc analysis assessed durability of response to Week 120 in MG-Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) and Quantitative MG (QMG) responders at Week 1 of two double-blind studies (NCT03315130, NCT04115293). Responder definitions: improvements of ≥3-points (MG-ADL) or ≥5-points (QMG) (interim data cut: 11 November 2023). Results: 93 patients were randomised to zilucoplan 0.3mg/kg in the double-blind studies; 43.0% (n=40/93) and 33.3% (n=31/93) were MG-ADL and QMG responders, respectively, at Week 1. Week 1 responders spent a median #of 98.9% (5.8–99.2) and 99.0% (2.5–99.2) time in response up to Week 120 for MG-ADL and QMG. Week 1 non-responders spent# a median #of 84.6% (0.0–98.3) and 66.7% (0.0–98.9) time in response up to Week 120 for MG-ADL and QMG, with most responding later in the study. Conclusions: Among early (Week 1) zilucoplan responders, time in response remained high (99%) up to Week 120. These data demonstrate rapid and sustained efficacy with long-term zilucoplan treatment.#

BACKGROUND:This study assessed the effectiveness and safety of patisiran in patients with V122I/T60A variant transthyretin (ATTRv) amyloidosis with polyneuropathy. These variants have been under-represented in previous trials of gene-silencing agents. METHODS:This was a multicenter, phase IV study conducted at 27 sites in the USA. Patients were ≥ 18 years, diagnosed with ATTRv amyloidosis with polyneuropathy and a documented V122I or T60A variant. Patisiran-treated patients were enrolled prospectively, ambispectively, and retrospectively. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a stable or improved polyneuropathy disability (PND) score at 12 months vs. baseline. Safety was monitored throughout the trial. RESULTS:Sixty-seven patients were enrolled, of whom 58 received ≥ 1 dose of patisiran. In the efficacy population, 42/45 (93.3%) patients demonstrated stable or improved PND scores from baseline to Month 12. Patients also showed stable or improved quality of life, health status, autonomic symptoms, and cardiac function vs. baseline. Adverse events occurred in 13/42 (31.0%) patients in the prospective and ambispective cohorts; most were mild or moderate. No deaths or cardiac hospitalizations were considered related to patisiran. CONCLUSIONS:Patisiran demonstrated a consistent positive effect across multiple endpoints in patients with V122I/T60A ATTRv amyloidosis, including polyneuropathy manifestations.

The efficacy and safety of complement component 5 inhibitor zilucoplan in patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) were assessed in two double-blind studies (NCT03315130/NCT04115293 [RAISE]). During these studies and the first 12 weeks of the open-label extension study, RAISE-XT, corticosteroid and non-steroidal immunosuppressive therapy (NSIST) doses were kept stable; thereafter doses could be changed at the investigator’s discretion. We evaluated corticosteroid and NSIST dose changes in patients with gMG during zilucoplan treatment in RAISE-XT. In RAISE-XT, patients who completed a qualifying double-blind study self-administered once-daily subcutaneous zilucoplan 0.3mg/kg. We assessed (post hoc) patients who changed their corticosteroid or NSIST dose relative to double-blind baseline at Week 120 (data cutoff: November 11, 2023). Overall, 200 patients enrolled. At Week 120, 61.1

Background Fatigue is a debilitating symptom of myasthenia gravis (MG). The impact of fatigue on MG can be assessed by Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders (Neuro-QoL) Short Form Fatigue scale. Transformation of raw Neuro-QoL fatigue scores to T-scores is a known approach for facilitating clinical interpretation of clinically meaningful and fatigue severity thresholds. Methods In the Phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled RAISE study (NCT04115293), adults with acetylcholine receptor autoantibody-positive generalised MG (MG Foundation of America Disease Class II–IV) were randomised 1:1 to daily subcutaneous zilucoplan 0.3 mg/kg or placebo for 12 weeks. Patients completing RAISE could opt to receive zilucoplan 0.3 mg/kg in an ongoing, open-label extension study, RAISE-XT (NCT04225871). In this post-hoc analysis, we evaluated the long-term effect of zilucoplan on fatigue in RAISE patients who entered RAISE-XT. We report change in Neuro-QoL Short Form Fatigue T-scores and fatigue severity levels from RAISE baseline to Week 60. Results Mean Neuro-QoL Short Form Fatigue T-scores improved from baseline to Week 12 in the zilucoplan group ( n = 86) with a clinically meaningful difference versus placebo ( n = 88; least squares mean difference: − 3.61 (nominal p -value = 0.0060]), and these improvements continued further to Week 60. At Week 12, more patients on zilucoplan ( n = 34, 47.2%) experienced improvements in ≥ 1 fatigue severity level from baseline versus placebo ( n = 23, 28.4%; p = 0.017). At Week 60, most ( n = 55, 65.5%) patients had mild fatigue or none. Conclusion Treatment with zilucoplan demonstrated statistical and clinically meaningful improvements in fatigue scores and severity versus placebo during RAISE, which were sustained to Week 60 in RAISE-XT.

Anti-NT5c1A antibodies, directed against cytosolic 5’-nucleotidase that is abundant in skeletal muscle, were identified as the first serological biomarker for IBM. Prior research suggested that NT5c1A seropositivity prognosticated a more severe motor phenotype with more severe motor weakness and bulbar involvement. Subsequent studies produced conflicting data, either confirming previous observations or not showing any relationship. The debate remains whether serological status may provide insight into functional severity and disease behavior. INSPIRE-IBM is a prospective NIH-funded observational study including patients ages 40 years or older with clinically defined IBM fulfilled by the ENMC 2011 criteria, and disease onset within the past 10 years of the Baseline visit. Serology for NT5c1A was collected at Baseline. Functional assessments to evaluate disease severity included Manual Muscle Testing (MMT), Timed get up-and-go (TUG), Sydney Swallow Questionnaire (SSQ), and EAT-10. Serological status was available for 140 out of 150 participants with IBM who were enrolled. Sixty-nine of the 140 IBM patients (49%) were seropositive for NT5c1A antibodies at Baseline. Patients were divided into two groups (Group A with disease duration between 0-5 years and Group B with disease duration between 6-10 years). Seropositive group A showed significantly greater difficulty swallowing (EAT-10 and SSQ) than seronegative group A. Seropositive group B showed a trend towards more difficulty swallowing (EAT-10 and SSQ) and motor function weakness (MMT) compared to the seronegative group but did not reach statistical significance. Seropositive IBM patients appear to have more swallowing difficulties than seronegative patients, and this difference appears early on in the disease course.