Myasthenia Gravis
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.
