Speaker:
Dr. Hans Frykman.
Dr. Frykman is the medical director of BC Neuroimmunology Lab located in UBC Hospital in Vancouver. He is also the CMO for Neurocode Lab in Bellingham WA, servicing the USA market. After completing medical school at Karolinska Institute, he trained in internal medicine followed by medical biochemistry at UBC. His focus since 2014 has been in clinical laboratory immunology, where he obtained training at JR Hospital in Oxford, Hopital Civil in Lyon, and University Clinic in Barcelona. Dr. Frykman also received training at the University of Gothenburg in neurodegenerative biomarkers. The BC Neuroimmunology lab has 16 employees and performs more than 15,000 tests per year, servicing all of Canada. Dr. Frykman just completed the chapter on Myasthenia Gravis in the Manual of Molecular and Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
Overview:
Treatment for Myasthenia Gravis is changing with the introduction of more upstream precision drugs. Particularly the FcRn inhibitors and also the complement inhibitors are providing higher efficacy while minimizing side-effects. However, these drugs are only indicated in antibody-positive patients, increasing the demands on the laboratory for more precise tests with higher specificity and higher sensitivity.
Objectives:
At the end of this activity, participants will be able to:
- Have knowledge about the change in treatment modality in autoimmune diseases starting with Myasthenia Gravis.
- Have knowledge about the latest developments in antibody detection for Myasthenia Gravis