[Results of myasthenia treatment with methylprednisolone pulses. Preliminary study]

Eleven patients with generalized myasthenia (type 2b and 3) were studied in whom thymectomy (9 cases) and/or oral steroids did not result in satisfactory improvement. Methylprednisolone was given once a day in an iv slow infusion for five consecutive days (30 mg/kg). In 7 cases this therapy was followed by oral prednisone and/or azathioprine, in 4 cases methylprednisolone infusions were repeated. In all patients a good clinical improvement was achieved immediately after the last infusion or several weeks later. SF EMG examination showed pathological jitter before methylprednisolone treatment in all patients. In 5 of them after therapy the abnormalities in SF EMG were less marked, in 6 patients their intensity did not change, despite good clinical improvement.