Supporting Patients with Myasthenia Gravis: A Pharmacist’s Role in Individualizing Therapy and Improving Patient-Centered Outcomes
ACPE Number:0204-0000-24-410-H01-P Content Release Date: February 13, 2025 Expiration Date: February 13, 2026 Activity Type: Application-based CE Credits: 1.5 contact hours (0.15 CEUs) Activity Fee: Free
Activity Overview
Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune disease where patients suffer from debilitating fatigable muscle weakness requiring lifelong management. Many patients within the first two years of diagnosis will experience a myasthenic crisis, which can lead to respiratory failure, mechanical ventilation, and admission to an intensive care unit. Historically, guideline-based therapies included non-targeted medications for symptom management, corticosteroid use, and steroid-sparring immunosuppression, but there is a lack of robust data supporting these therapies, and adverse events can be a common challenge. Additionally, many patients do not see relief in their symptoms with these therapies. Newer agents including compliment inhibitors and Fc receptor antagonists have paved the way for targeted therapies, which improve disease severity and functional disability. This educational activity will compare different therapeutic options in myasthenia gravis, identify where newer agents fit into individualized treatment, and discuss the important role of the pharmacist in improving patient outcomes.
*Please note, this activity was presented live on December 10, 2024 as part of the ASHP 2024 Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition. You can only claim credit once for this activity; live or home study.
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education with Commendation.
This activity was planned to meet the educational needs of pharmacists who practice in hospitals, health systems, and ambulatory infusion centers who care for or are interested in the care of patients with myasthenia gravis.
After participating in this CPE activity, learners should be able to:
Describe the pathophysiology of myasthenia gravis and the safety and efficacy for guideline-based therapy.
Evaluate evidence of new and emerging treatments for myasthenia gravis including their mechanism of action, pharmacology, clinical trial data, and real-world evidence.
Apply evidence-based approaches to individualize patient-centered treatment and provide patient counseling to improve patient safety and adherence.
Dr. Andrew J. Webb is a neurocritical care clinical pharmacy specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He completed his undergraduate studies and Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island and then completed his PGY1 pharmacy residency at Mayo Clinic followed by a PGY2 in critical care at Oregon Health & Science University. He serves on several interprofessional institutional and professional organization committees, including the MGH Department of Neurology Quality and Patient Safety committee where he has helped implement medication safety initiatives to ensure safe medication practices for patients with rare neurologic conditions including myasthenia gravis. Dr. Webb has also served as part of the Pharmacotherapy Specialty Recertification Literature Study and is an expert faculty member in Critical Care for ASHP.
Neelam Goyal, MD Clinical Professor, Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Division of Neuromuscular Medicine Stanford University Palo Alto, California
Dr. Neelam Goyal is a Clinical Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences in the division of Neuromuscular Medicine. She earned her medical degree at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY. Subsequently, she completed her neurology residency, which included a chief year, followed by a fellowship year in neurophysiology, specializing in neuromuscular disorders and EMG nerve conduction studies at Stanford University Medical Hospital. Dr. Goyal focuses on the diagnosis, management, and electrophysiological testing of neuromuscular disorders, including SFEMG. Her expertise extends to immune-mediated disorders such as myositis, myasthenia gravis, CIDP, and vasculitis. Her research interests involve monitoring and managing the short and long-term toxicity of immunosuppressive agents. She is actively involved in a grant-supported project investigating steroid toxicity in patients with myasthenia gravis.
Jeffery S. Vender, MD, MCCM, MBA is the Emeritus, Harris Family Foundation Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Illinois and a Clinical Professor at the University of Chicago Pritzker School Of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. He is a past member of the NorthShore University Health System Faculty Practice Associates Board of Directors, Past Chair of the Medical Executive Committee for the Professional Staff at NorthShore and previously served on Northshore’s Board of Directors. Dr. Vender served as Chair of Anesthesia from 1990-2015 and received an appointment of adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. He served as the Director of the Critical Care Services at Evanston Hospital from 1987-2000 and the Interim Chairman at Northwestern University Department of Anesthesiology from July 1999 until October 2000. Dr. Vender has participated and Chaired numerous state and national committees of various medical organizations, edited several medical texts, has published over 135 articles and book chapters and has been an invited lecturer at over 250 national and international meetings on topics of anesthesiology, critical care, organizational change, and leadership. In addition, Dr. Vender serves as an editor and/or reviewer for many medical journals.
In accordance with our accreditor’s Standards of Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, ASHP requires that all individuals in control of content disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies. An individual has a relevant financial relationship if they have had a financial relationship with an ineligible company in any dollar amount in the past 24 months and the educational content that the individual controls is related to the business lines or products of the ineligible company.
An ineligible company is any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. The presence or absence of relevant financial relationships will be disclosed to the activity audience.
The following persons in control of this activity’s content have relevant financial relationships:
All other persons in control of content do not have any relevant financial relationships with an ineligible company.
As defined by the Standards of Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education definition of ineligible company. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated prior to the CE activity.
Per ACPE requirements, CPE credit must be claimed within 60 days of being earned – no exceptions! To verify that you have completed the required steps and to ensure your credits have been reported to CPE Monitor, we encourage you to check your NABP eProfile account to validate your credits were transferred successfully before the ACPE 60-day deadline. After the 60 day deadline, ASHP will no longer be able to award credit for this activity.
Provided by ASHP
Supported by an independent educational grant from argenx.
