Figure 6.

Combination treatment rather than only immunomodulatory treatment is associated with clinical improvement. Intervals between two consecutive serum samplings were categorized according to the immunotherapy administrated during the interval as described in the methods sections (A: None = no treatment, IVIG ± CS/Aza = intravenous immunoglobulins with or without corticosteroids or azathioprine, RTX ± CS/Aza/CP/Plex = rituximab with or without CS, Aza, cyclophosphamide or plasma exchange, PLEX or CS = plasma exchange or corticosteroids, B: No/Mono = no treatment or monotherapy; C: No Aza = without azathioprine, With Aza = with azathioprine). The number of intervals is indicated below the bars. Changes in clinical severity during these intervals were categorized as worse (red), stable (yellow), or better (green) as described in the Materials & Methods section. A statistical comparison was performed by one-sided Fisher’s exact test. The p-values are indicated above the graphs.