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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neuromuscular Disorders and Peripheral Neuropathies
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1501500

Successful Treatment of Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis with Telitacicept: A Chinese Case Series and Literature Review

Provisionally accepted
Xiaodong Song Xiaodong Song 1,2Yang He Yang He 1*Hong Jiang Hong Jiang 1Yao Yu Yao Yu 1Yue Sun Yue Sun 1*Zunjing Liu Zunjing Liu 1*Zhaoxu Zhang Zhaoxu Zhang 1*
  • 1 Department of Neurology, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 2 Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China

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

    Background: Despite existing treatments of generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), there remains a need for more effective therapies with fewer side effects. Telitacicept, targeting B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), emerges as a potential novel therapy for gMG. Case presentation: In our study, four patients with gMG refractory to standard treatments underwent an 8-week course of telitacicept monotherapy. Post-treatment, all patients exhibited satisfactory improvements. The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (MGFA-QMG) scores, 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life (MGQOL-15) scores, and MGassociated Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) scores showed a marked reduction, indicating decreased disease severity and enhanced quality of life. Additionally, immunological assessments revealed a decrease in CD19 + B lymphocyte counts and acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies. Only one patient reported a mild, transient injection reaction. Conclusion: Favorable clinical improvement and mild adverse events for gMG in treated with telitacicept were observed. However, larger-scale and longer-term studies are necessary to confirm these results and fully establish the role of telitacicept in the treatment of gMG.

    Keywords: Generalized Myasthenia Gravis, Telitacicept, B Lymphocyte Stimulator, A proliferation-inducing ligand, Treatment

    Received: 25 Sep 2024; Accepted: 20 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Song, He, Jiang, Yu, Sun, Liu and Zhang. 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:
    Yang He, Department of Neurology, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, 100044, Beijing Municipality, China
    Yue Sun, Department of Neurology, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, 100044, Beijing Municipality, China
    Zunjing Liu, Department of Neurology, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, 100044, Beijing Municipality, China
    Zhaoxu Zhang, Department of Neurology, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, 100044, Beijing Municipality, 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.