Causes of Myasthenia Gravis is sometimes associated with thyroid disease, excessive growth of the thymus (a gland in the chest that is an essential part of the immune system), or tumors in the thymus.
Myasthenia Gravis
Myasthenia gravis is an uncommon disease of the nerves and muscles, characterized by great fatigue and weakness in the muscular system, most notably in the face and throat.
Although the muscles do not atrophy (wither or waste away), there is slow and progressive paralysis.
The disease is most likely to strike adults, especially women between the ages of 18 and 25 and men older than 40, but it can affect persons of any age.
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Experts believe that the disorder originates in the immune system and causes the body to destroy or block the sites responsible for receiving acetylcholine.
Causes of Myasthenia Gravis: Myasthenia gravis is sometimes associated with thyroid disease, excessive growth of the thymus (a gland in the chest that is an essential part of the immune system), or tumors in the thymus.
Symptoms
The muscular weakness first shows up in the face: the eyelids droop, often causing squinting and double vision; there is an inability to move the mouth and lips, with subsequent difficulty in talking, chewing, and swallowing; and the cheeks generally droop or sag.
Sometimes the arms and legs are afflicted, affecting basic motor movements, like walking and standing, and the performance of simple tasks, like lifting a cup.
The progressive muscular weakness can also impair breathing.
The degree of paralysis or weakness varies from hour to hour and day to day, although it tends to be least severe in the morning and worst at night.
Blood tests and chest X rays aid in the diagnosis.
Treatment
Myasthenia gravis is usually not curable, but drugs are available that restore nerve transmission to the muscles.
The drugs neostigmine and pyridostigmine help to reestablish muscle strength and enable the patient with myasthenia gravis to live a more normal life.
If a disorder of the thymus gland is found to be the underlying problem, the gland can be surgically removed. Corticosteroids are used to help regulate the immune system.