Myasthenia gravis

People with myasthenia gravis (MG) have muscle weakness that worsens throughout the day. This autoimmune disease affects the neuromuscular system. Drooping eyelids are often the first sign. Eventually, you may find it difficult to control your neck and limbs. Medications and surgery can help relieve the symptoms of this lifelong illness. Overview What is myasthenia gravis? Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease, meaning the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own parts. MG affects the communication between nerves and muscles (the neuromuscular junction). People with MG lose the ability to control muscles voluntarily. They experience muscle weakness and fatigue of various severity. They may not be able to move muscles in the eyes, face, neck and limbs. MG is a lifelong neuromuscular disease. There isn’t a cure, but treatments can help and some patients may achieve remission. How common is myasthenia gravis? MG affects about 20 out of every 100,000 people. Experts estimate that 36,000 to 60,000 Americans have this neuromuscular disease. The actual number of people affected may be higher, as some people with mild cases may not know they have the disease. Who might get myasthenia gravis? MG mostly affects women aged 20 to 40 and men aged 50 to 80. About one in 10 cases of MG occur in teenagers (juvenile MG). The illness can affect people of all ages but is rare in children. These factors increase risk: • History of other autoimmune diseases, such as • Infectio...

• Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy the communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness of the skeletal muscles. • Myasthenia gravis affects the voluntary muscles of the body, especially those that control the eyes, mouth, throat and limbs. • The disease can strike anyone at any age, but is more frequently seen in young women (age 20 and 30) and men aged 50 and older. • A myasthenia gravis crisis can involve difficulty in swallowing or breathing. • The cause of myasthenia gravis is unknown and there is no cure, but early detection and prompt medical management can help people live longer, more functional lives. What causes myasthenia gravis? Myasthenia gravis is not inherited and it is not contagious. It generally develops later in life when antibodies in the body attack normal receptors on muscle. This blocks a chemical needed to stimulate muscle contraction. A temporary form of myasthenia gravis may develop in the fetus when a woman with myasthenia gravis passes the antibodies to the fetus. Generally, it resolves in 2 to 3 months. What are the symptoms of myasthenia gravis? These are the most common symptoms of myasthenia gravis: • Visual problems, including drooping eyelids (ptosis) and double vision (diplopia) • Muscle weakness and fatigue may vary rapidly in intensity over days or even hours and worsen as muscles are used (early fatigue) • Facial muscle involvement causing a mask-like appearance; a smile...

What Is Myasthenia Gravis? This waxing-and-waning weakness of muscles, worsening with use and improving with rest, is a hallmark of this disease. There typically are periods when you may notice more symptoms (called an exacerbation), interspersed with periods when symptoms decrease or disappear (remission). Myasthenia gravis affecting multiple muscle groups throughout the body is called generalized myasthenia gravis. Other common muscle groups that are affected may make it difficult for you to chew, swallow, smile, shrug, lift your arm up, grip, rise to a stand, or walk up stairs. When the muscles needed for Though anyone can get myasthenia gravis, those most likely to do so are women between ages 20 and 40 or men between ages 50 and 70. If a woman with myasthenia gravis gives birth, the Myasthenia Gravis Symptoms The disease most commonly affects muscles that control General symptoms of myasthenia gravis include: • Weakness in your • Drooping eyelids • • • Change in your facial expression • Trouble swallowing • Shortness of breath • Problems speaking • Problems walking and lifting things • Trouble holding up your head If the muscles you use to breathe get weak enough that you can’t control them, it’s called a myasthenic crisis. This is a medical emergency that may require Myasthenia Gravis Causes Under normal conditions, nerves direct your muscles to work by sending a message through an area called a receptor. The chemical that delivers the message is called acetylcholine...

• • An autoimmune neuromuscular disease that causes muscle weakness • • Symptoms include trouble chewing and swallowing, droopy eyelids, muscle weakness, or slurred speech • • Treatments include medications, plasmapheresis, and surgery • • Involves myasthenia gravis, neuromuscular medicine, and neurology Most people have experienced muscle weakness after exercise, heavy exertion, or illness, but extreme fatigue and loss of motor control can be signs of a neurological disorder called myasthenia gravis (MG). Pronounced “my-as-theen-ee-a grav-us,” the condition affects between 14 to 40 Americans per 100,000. Patients with MG have overactive immune systems that disrupt the body’s normal communication between nerve cells and muscle cells. Clinicians at the Patients with MG might first notice drooping eyelids, trouble chewing and swallowing, or slurred speech. MG can also cause muscle weakness in the legs or arms; it can even cause breathing problems. Typically, motor control becomes worse during periods of exertion and gets better with rest. Sometimes periods of muscle weakness come on so suddenly that a person may have trouble breathing and will require medical assistance. This type of acute episode, called a myasthenic crisis does not occur in most cases. However, these episodes can be exacerbated by a number of factors, including pregnancy, infection, surgery, or some other trauma. Some patients will experience symptoms involving their eyes only, which is referred to as ocul...

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular disorder that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles, which are the muscles your body uses for movement. MG happens when communication between nerve cells and muscles becomes impaired. This impairment prevents crucial muscle contractions from occurring, causing muscle weakness. According to the MG is considered a relatively rare condition that affects about 20 out of every 100,000 people in the United States. However, it’s also underdiagnosed, so the prevalence could be higher. Learn more about the symptoms and causes of MG and what treatment options are available for this neuromuscular disorder. The main symptom of MG is weakness in the voluntary skeletal muscles, which are muscles under your control. The failure of muscles to contract usually happens because they can’t respond to nerve impulses. Without proper transmission of the impulse, the communication between nerve and muscle is blocked and weakness results. Weakness associated with MG usually gets worse with more activity and improves with rest. Symptoms of MG may present via Eyes MG can cause dropping of the eyelids, as well as double or blurry vision. You may also experience overall weakness in your eye muscles. Face In addition to Throat When MG affects the muscles of the throat, you may experience: • trouble talking • • difficulty swallowing or chewing • hoarse voice • weakness in your neck, making it difficult to hold your head up Chest When MG affects the muscles of ...

Welcome MGFA welcomes you to our website. This website is intended to increase awareness of myasthenia gravis (MG), support those living with MG and create connections for the MG community. To learn more about MGFA, What is myasthenia gravis (MG)? Myasthenia gravis (pronounced My-as-theen-ee-a grav-us) comes from the Greek and Latin words meaning "grave muscular weakness." The most common form of MG is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disorder that is characterized by fluctuating weakness of the voluntary muscle groups.

Overview Myasthenia gravis (my-us-THEE-nee-uh GRAY-vis) is characterized by weakness and rapid fatigue of any of the muscles under your voluntary control. It's caused by a breakdown in the normal communication between nerves and muscles. There's no cure for myasthenia gravis, but treatment can help relieve signs and symptoms, such as weakness of arm or leg muscles, double vision, drooping eyelids, and difficulties with speech, chewing, swallowing and breathing. Symptoms Muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis worsens as the affected muscle is used. Because symptoms usually improve with rest, muscle weakness can come and go. However, the symptoms tend to progress over time, usually reaching their worst within a few years after the onset of the disease. Although myasthenia gravis can affect any of the muscles that you control voluntarily, certain muscle groups are more commonly affected than others. Eye muscles In more than half of people who develop myasthenia gravis, their first signs and symptoms involve eye problems, such as: • Drooping of one or both eyelids (ptosis) • Double vision (diplopia), which may be horizontal or vertical, and improves or resolves when one eye is closed Face and throat muscles In about 15% of people with myasthenia gravis, the first symptoms involve face and throat muscles, which can: • Impair speaking. Your speech might sound soft or nasal, depending on which muscles have been affected. • Cause difficulty swallowing. You might choke easily,...