Wolfe’s NIH-Funded Study Supports Surgery as Treatment for Myasthenia Gravis

A UB study of Myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness and fatigue, found that surgical removal of an organ called the thymus reduced patients’ weakness and their need for immunosuppressive drugs.

“Our results support the idea that thymectomy is a valid treatment option for a major form of myasthenia gravis,” said first author Gil I. Wolfe, MD, professor and Irvin and Rosemary Smith Chair of neurology.