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Myasthenia Gravis

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Science & Technology
  • Published
    8th Oct, 2022

Context

Veteran actor Arun Bali died due to Myasthenia Gravis.

About Myasthenia gravis

  • It is an autoimmune disease caused by a communication failure between nerves and muscles.
  • This disease occurs in every 1 in 20,000 persons, causing muscle weakness.
  • This muscle weakness is because of the inability of the neuromuscular junctions to transmit enough signals from nerve fibers to the muscle fibers. 
  • In this condition, antibodies attack the acetylcholine receptor in the body and can be seen in the blood. 
  • This causes a decrease in the number of Ach receptors causing muscle weakness.
  • Drugs like neostigmine can help with the symptoms as it can accumulate acetylcholine in the synapses by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase.

Symptoms 

  • Symptoms of myasthenia gravis include-
    • Hoarse voice.
    • Double vision.
    • Drooping of eyelids.
    • Difficulty in talking.
    • Difficulty in swallowing or chewing.
    • Problems in lifting objects and walking upstairs.
    • Difficulty in breathing due to muscular weakness.

Treatment

  • There is no cure for myasthenia gravis. 
  • The goal of treatment is to manage symptoms and control the activity of your immune system through the below-mentioned ways-
    • Medication.
    • Plasma Exchange.
    • Lifestyle Changes.
    • Thymus Gland Removal.
    • Intravenous Immune Globulin.
    • Avoid stress and heat exposure.
    • Rest to help minimize muscle weakness.

Verifying, please be patient.

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