Myasthenia Gravis Rare Disease Network (MGNet)

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease that blocks the signal from nerve to muscle, producing weakness. The nature of the disease can range from isolated severe vision problems, like drooping eyelids or double vision, to profound general weakness leading to breathing muscle failure. Although the cause of MG is not known, the disease appears to vary based on several factors, including the types of antibodies injuring the muscle, age, sex, and abnormalities of the thymus gland, which is an important part of the immune system. The Myasthenia Gravis Rare Disease Network (MGNet) serves as a centralized, international consortium for physicians, scientists, and patient advocacy groups as well as industry partners to develop resources and implement ideas to enhance discovery, treatment, and advocacy for the patient community. The immediate goals of MGNet are to further define how patients respond to conventional treatments over time, evaluate a novel drug for therapy of some forms of MG, find biological markers of the disease (biomarkers), and encourage new scientists to focus research on MG.

The Myasthenia Gravis Rare Disease Network (MGNet) is part of the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN), which is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and led by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) through its Division of Rare Diseases Research Innovation (DRDRI). MGNet is funded under grant number U54NS115054 as a collaboration between NCATS and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). All RDCRN consortia are supported by the network’s Data Management and Coordinating Center (DMCC) (U2CTR002818). Funding support for the DMCC is provided by NCATS and NINDS.