Doctors at Artemis Hospital have successfully treated a case of ‘Myasthenia Gravis’, a rare and complex autoimmune disease through ‘Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation’ (HSCT).
Evert Sye Kenter, a Canadian citizen had developed a serious allergic reaction to pyridostigmine (the mainstay of treatment of Myasthenia Gravis) and was intolerant to second line drugs, said Dr Pawan Kumar Singh, senior consultant at the hospital. He also said that the patients had Glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency which again limited the number of drugs available to treat his case but finally he recovered with the efforts of doctors.
Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness especially those of eyes and face. The rare autoimmune disorder results from antibodies that block or destroy receptors at the junction between the nerve and muscle. Myasthenia Gravis has an annual incidence of 20 cases per million.
