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Thank you for your coverage of the AANEM Annual Meeting. Please join us at the 2025 AANEM Annual Meeting, being held Oct.29-Nov. 1 in San Francisco, California. Journalists covering the annual meeting and posting stories on social media channels are encouraged to use the official meeting hashtag #AANEMinSanFran.
Please review the Abstract Embargo Policy. For questions regarding AANEM Annual Meeting policies, please email communications@aanem.org.

View the latest AANEM Achievement Award winners, the American Neuromuscular Foundation (ANF) Abstract Award winners, and the latest AANEM news articles on News Express.

Questions? Check out the frequently asked questions below or contact communications@aanem.org. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When will be content of abstracts be viewable, as opposed to just the titles?
A: The abstract content will be available at the annual meeting during the Poster Hall hours. We do not provide abstract presenter information or slides ahead of time. All available information can be found in the AANEM Abstract Guide online when it becomes available.

Q: How do I reach out to abstract or session presenters for an interview?
A: We do not offer member contact information. To connect with abstract or session presenters, review the AANEM Annual Meeting Program when available. Find the topics of interest and connect with the presenter after their lecture or during their abstract poster session time. Currently there is no interview option for virtual attendees.

Q: When can I share information?
A: The embargo on the abstracts themselves is lifted when they have been published in Muscle & Nerve and online in the AANEM Abstract Guide. However, the additional information beyond what is in the abstract itself is still embargoed. 

AANEM requires information that goes beyond that which is contained within the abstract, e.g., the release of data not included in the abstract, discussion of the abstract done as part of a scientific presentation, etc. to be embargoed until the start of the annual meeting. Please see the Abstract Embargo Policy.

Q: Will the Abstract Award Reception feature the best posters? 
A: The Abstract Award Reception is a social hour in honor of the abstract award winners where all authors, including award winners, will be available to discuss research. 

Q: Original research is ONLY presented as posters, correct?
A: Yes - the research is presented in the Poster Hall via abstract posters.

Science News: Eculizumab in Severe Guillain‐Barré Syndrome

May 5, 2025, 13:25 by Maggie Schmidt (Admin)
This review discusses the results of eculizumab in cases of severe Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Submitted by: Oksana Sayko, MD
Edited by: Nakul Katyal, MD

Citation: Kuwabara S, Kusunoki S, Kuwahara M, et al. Efficacy and safety of eculizumab in Guillain‐Barré syndrome: A phase 3, multicenter, double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled clinical trial. Journal of the Peripheral Nervous System. 2024;29(3):339-349. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jns.12646.

‌Summary: This phase 3, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial investigated the efficacy and safety of eculizumab as add-on treatment to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in Japanese patients with severe Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Severe GBS was defined as Huges functional grade (FG) 3 (able to walk 5 m with help), FG4 (bedridden or chair-bound), or FG5 (ventilation assisted breathing). The hypothesis is that the activation of the complement pathway plays an integral role in the pathophysiology of acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) and likely acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP). A treatment targeting complement component 5 can potentially improve efficacy. Eculizumab is a C5 inhibitor. Previously, a phase 2 Japanese trial showed combined eculizumab and IVIg treatment resulted in a higher proportion of patients achieving FG1 (able to run) or FG0 (healthy). 

The study enrolled 57 patients. The inclusion criteria were adults (age >= 18 years) diagnosed with severe GBS, ability to run before the onset of symptoms, and eligible to start IVIg treatment. The patients were randomized 2:1 to receive intravenous infusion of eculizumab (n= 37) or placebo (n=20) weekly for 4 weeks. Primary efficacy endpoint was the time to first reach FG score ≤1 (able to run). Key secondary endpoints were proportion of participants achieving FG ≤1 at weeks 8 and 24 and FG improvement ≥3 at week 24. EMG studies were conducted during the screening period to determine the GBS subtype and again at week 4. 

The study found 54% (20/37) of participants in the eculizumab treatment arm and 65% (13/20) of participants in the placebo treatment arm achieved an FG score of ≤1. The difference in time to first reach FG score ≤1 did not achieve statistical significance. Add-on treatment with eculizumab did not result in statistically significant improvements compared to placebo in patients with GBS. 

The author commented on one difference between phase 2 and phase 3 trials is the proportions of participants with AMAN and AIDP subtype. Phase 2 had a higher proportion of AMAN type and phase 3 had a higher proportion of AIDP type. The authors further speculated that the demographic difference between two trials may be the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Comments: The study appears to be a well-designed and balanced phase 3 trial, and the results directly impacted the patient’s access to this medication. Although disappointing that the phase 3 trial failed to confirm positive findings of the phase 2 trial, this is an important development in GBS treatment.