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| Autoimmune Diseases: Myasthenia Gravis (MG) |
| This page was written by Shelley Ensz, and has not yet been medically edited. See Disclaimer. |
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| What is Myasthenia Gravis? |
| Myasthenia gravis is a neuromuscular disorder characterized by variable weakness of voluntary muscles, which often improves with rest and worsens with activity. The condition is caused by an abnormal immune response. Medline Plus Dictionary. |
| Myasthenia gravis may be associated with other autoimmune diseases. Patients with family members who suffer from disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and lupus may have an increased risk for myasthenia gravis. Neurology Channel. |
| Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the skeletal (voluntary) muscles of the body. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. |
| Myasthenia Gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is the most common primary disorder of neuromuscular transmission. Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America and James F. Howard, Jr., M.D. |
| Myasthenia Gravis. Medline Plus Health Information. |
| Symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis |
| Symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis The primary symptoms of myasthenia gravis are that muscles are weak and quick to fatigue. These symptoms can take many forms, and the symptoms may be more or less severe for different people. Aetna InteliHealth. |
| How Muscle Weakness Caused By Myasthenia Gravis Can Be Stopped, According To New Research. Severe muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis -- a highly debilitating autoimmune disorder -- can be prevented or reversed by blocking a key step in the immune response that brings on the disease, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have found. ScienceDaily News. 12/23/07. |
| The clinical features of myasthenia gravis (MG) affecting nonskeleton muscles. MG is an autoimmune disease mediated by auto-antibodies that attack the acetylcholine receptors not only at the skeletal muscle, but also at many other organs such as heart, liver, hearing apparatus pupillary sphincters and genitals. With the relaxation of muscular weakness, these symptoms will improve. The effect of administering cholinesterase inhibitors is the key point of differential diagnosis. PubMed. Zhonghua Nei Ke Za Zhi. 2004 Aug;43(8):588-90. |
| Pregnancy and Myasthenia Gravis |
| Myasthenia Gravis (MG) may be associated with other autoimmune diseases. Patients with family members who suffer from disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and lupus may have an increased risk for myasthenia gravis. Healthcommunities.com (Also see: What is Scleroderma?) |
| Effects of Maternal Myasthenia Gravis on Pregnancy and Birth Examined. A 33-year study of all births by women in Norway with Myasthenia Gravis (MG) confirms that MG is associated with an increased risk for complications during pregnancy, including a threefold higher incidence of preterm rupture of the amniotic membranes, and twice the occurrence of delivery by cesarean section. Innovations report. American Academy of Neurology. 11/25/03. |
| Scleroderma and Myasthenia Gravis |
| Myasthenia gravis and scleroderma: Two cases and a review of the literature. Myasthenia gravis is uncommon in patients with scleroderma, and when diagnosed is usually associated with previous use of d-penicillamine. Clinically, both myasthenia and scleroderma may present with fatigue, weakness and bulbar symptoms, so one of diagnoses may be delayed. PubMed. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2007 Feb 3. (Also see: Clinical Trials: Negative Results) |
| Myasthenia Gravis (MG) may be associated with other autoimmune diseases. Patients with family members who suffer from disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and lupus may have an increased risk for myasthenia gravis. Healthcommunities.com. (Also see: Autoimmune Diseases: Main Page and What is Scleroderma?) |
| Treatments for Myasthenia Gravis |
| No known cure, but there are effective treatments for Myasthenia Gravis. Experts at the National Institutes of Health call the disease a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the voluntary muscles of the body. Bend Weekly News. 04/06/07. |
| Discovery May Lead to Novel Treatments for Autoimmune and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases. For years, doctors have used IVIG to treat patients with autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, but just how the therapy works has remained a mystery. Some researchers have shown that IVIG works, in part, by activating a receptor known as FcγRIIb, which then suppresses auto-antibody-mediated inflammation. Newswise. 01/26/07. (Also see: Clinical Trials: Positive Results: IVIG, Medications, and Dermatomyositis) |
| Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in autoimmune neuromuscular diseases. Outcomes of controlled trials indicate that IVIG at a total dose of 2 g/kg is effective as second-line therapy in stiff-person syndrome, dermatomyositis, myasthenia gravis, and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. IVIg is effective in many autoimmune neurologic diseases, but its spectrum of efficacy, especially as first-line therapy, and the appropriate dose for long-term maintenance therapy are not fully established. PubMed. JAMA. 2004 May 19;291(19):2367-75. (Also see: Medications, and Dermatomyositis) |
| Treatment of autoimmune myasthenia gravis. Remission induction is usually accomplished through the use of high-dose corticosteroids, frequently in conjunction with IV immunoglobulin or plasmapheresis. PubMed. Neurology. 2003 Dec 23;61(12):1652-61. |
| Research about Myasthenia Gravis |
| Myasthenia gravis: emerging new therapy options. Myasthenia gravis is probably the most thoroughly understood of all human autoimmune diseases. The ideal treatment for myasthenia would eliminate the abnormal autoimmune response without interfering with the immune system. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2005 Jun;5(3):303-7. |
| Triad of thymoma, myasthenia gravis and pure red cell aplasia combined with Sjogren's syndrome. The case is the first to be reported with Sjogren's syndrome and the triad of thymoma, myasthenia gravis and pure red cell aplasia. PubMed. Jpn J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2004 Jul;52(7):345-8. (Also see: Sjogren's Syndrome) |
| Personal Stories about Myasthenia Gravis |
| Papa V: Lupus, Antiphospholipid Syndrome, Myasthenia Gravis, and Scleroderma About thirty years passed, and then—BAM !—I got a heart blockage, stroke, liver biopsy due to elevated enzymes, skin rash, high blood pressure, very high ANA.. |
