Anti-Complement C5b monoclonal antibody, clone IDD6c.2

The photonic bandgap and localization in photonic crystals can be effectively modulated by energetic ion beams owing to the induced modification of the thickness and refractive indices of the materials. In this work, the modulation of photonic bandgap and defect modes in 1D all-dielectric photonic crystals is investigated theoretically and experimentally by using carbon (C5+) ion irradiation. It is found that the photonic bandgap and defect mode have a remarkable hypsochromic shift under the C(5+)ion irradiation. The degree of the blueshift mainly depends on the reduction of the material thickness that is nearly proportional to the fluences of C(5+)ions. The blueshift of the band edges and defect modes shows a step-like behavior from transparency to opacification (near-zero transmittance or high reflectance) or a converse trend. The work paves a new way to tailor the photonic crystals toward the development of novel devices with tunable specific wavelengths and wavebands.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoantibody-mediated disease of the neuromuscular junction. The neuromuscular junction damage associated with MG is caused by anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody and complements. Recently, eculizumab (an anti-C5 monoclonal antibody) was approved for patients with anti-AChR antibody-positive generalized refractory MG. Here, we report a Japanese man with MG who well responded to eculizumab, but experienced acute severe worsening of myasthenic symptoms 2 months after its discontinuation. Plasmapheresis did not improve his symptoms; hence, eculizumab was re-administered, resulting in a dramatic response within a week. This is an informative case because eculizumab discontinuation in patients with MG has been very rarely reported. If eculizumab treatment is clinically well effective and AChR antibody titer does not decrease, clinicians should be aware that acute and critical deterioration of MG may occur after the eculizumab discontinuation.