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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neuromuscular Disorders and Peripheral Neuropathies
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1439899

The efficacy and safety of low-dose rituximab in Myasthenia Gravis: A systemic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Xishuai Yang Xishuai Yang 1Wei Zhang Wei Zhang 2Junhong Guo Junhong Guo 2Chunlin Ma Chunlin Ma 2Binxia li Binxia li 1*
  • 1 Changzhi People's Hospital, Changzhi, China
  • 2 First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shaanxi, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Rituximab (RTX) is a monoclonal antibody that has been increasingly used in treating myasthenia gravis (MG). In most of studies, the therapeutics protocol was similar to that adopted for B cell lymphoma, increasing number of studies have tried to explore the efficacy of low-dose RTX in MG. However, the beneficial effects of low-dose RTX in MG are still a critical debating question.This study was conducted according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic review and Meta-Analysis) statement. Two reviewers (Xishuai Yang and Bingxia Li) independently searched the PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane library, CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure). Metaanalysis via representative forest plots was conducted for "Improved clinical status", Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (QMG) score change pre and post-treatment.A total of 17 studies involving 292 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Improvement in clinical status was observed in 91% of patients at the final follow-up after therapy (95%CI:84%-96%, P<0.001). The QMG score showed a significant reduction following treatment, with a standardized mean difference (SMD) of -1.69 (95%

    Keywords: Low-dose, RTX, Myasthenia Gravis, acetylcholine receptor, Musclespecific kinase

    Received: 28 May 2024; Accepted: 23 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yang, Zhang, Guo, Ma and li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Binxia li, Changzhi People's Hospital, Changzhi, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.