Myasthenia Gravis is a weakness and rapid fatigue of muscles under voluntary control. This disease is caused by an interruption in communication between nerves and muscles at the neuromuscular junction; this is the place where nerve cells connect with the muscles they control. The muscle weakness increases through periods of activity and then improves during rest. For example, muscles that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expression, chewing, talking, and swallowing, these are the most often muscles affected. Other muscles that can be affected are muscles that control breathing and neck and limb movement can be affected. Symptoms include, difficulty swallowing, double vision, unsteady walk, weakness in arm and leg muscles, and difficulties …show more content…
The main treatments are medications, therapy, and surgery. Some medications used to treat Myasthenia Gravis are anticholinesterase agents such as neostigmine and pyridostigmine. These medications help improve neuromuscular transmission and to increase muscle strength. Victims may also take Immunosuppressive drugs, such as prednisone, azathioprine, cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil, and tacrolimus. These medications also help improve muscle strength. The medications work by suppressing the production of abnormal antibodies. When taking these medications you must be carefully monitored by a physician. An important therapy used to treat the disease would be plasmapheresis, this procedure is when a specialist removes blood that is infected with abnormal antibodies. Therapies may be used especially during difficult periods of weakness. Lastly surgery is an option, one of the surgery procedures is thymectomy, this is the surgical removal of the thymus gland. This is often abnormal in some cases. With the surgery it reduces symptoms in some cases without thymoma and may cure people by rebalancing the immune system. Typically thymectomy is recommended for individuals with thymoma. Thymoma is an uncommon tumor in the thymus. A Neurologist will determine which treatment option is best for a patient, it all depends on the severity of the weakness, which muscles are affected, the age of the patient, and any other associated medical
The most common features of Neuromyotonia is muscle stiffness, muscles contracting, twitching muscles (myokymia), and weakened reflexes. These symptoms can be designated to a particular area, usually the face and hands or throughout the body. Stiffness is mostly featured in the limbs and trunk muscles. Observable symptoms include abnormal movements, pains and cramps. Behavioral changes include disruptive sleep, excessive sweating, although these types of symptoms are uncommon. Symptoms can occur during sleep and when under anesthesia. Muscle fiber excessive activity can lead to muscle weakness or increase size of muscle cells known as hypertrophy (David, Firth, Cox 515). Being diagnose with Neuromyonia ranges from a wide age range fifthteen to sixty, most people experience signs before their forties (Maddison 2119).
4. Neostigmine is one drug that may be prescribed for people with myasthenia gravis. This drug, like the edrophonium chloride injection, will make Annie feel stronger. Go back to the flow diagram, look at each stage, and determine how these drugs could work to increase synaptic performance.
Periodic Paralysis Syndrome is a blanket term for a couple of inherited muscular disorders. The most common types are hypokalemic periodic paralysis and hyperkalemic periodic paralysis. Both of these are inherited and generally present from childhood, tho it is possible for symptoms to start showing later in adolescence. In hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, high levels of potassium in the blood interact with genetically caused abnormalities in sodium channels (pores that allow the passage of sodium molecules) in muscle cells, resulting in temporary muscle weakness and, when severe, in temporary paralysis. This disease may be caused by genetic defects in either the calcium channel or the sodium channel. Hypokalemic disease may be caused by genetic defects in either the calcium channel or the sodium channel (Medline Plus).
Recent studies show that this syndrome may be associated with changing craniofacial and skeletal muscle metabolism, such as blood flow, which causes the chronic fatigue and severe weakness. Another hypothesis is that an infectious trauma to the body, such as a virus, triggers the illness. However, with this syndrome being new, no specific virus has been identified. There is though a plot study that shows that there is possible inherited tendency toward the disease. This disease/syndrome has increased
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy is another disease that causes weakness and wasting of the muscles. Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) is an extremely rare disease that specifically affects the bony structures that surround the hip and shoulders. The bony structures that surround
Myasthenia Gravis affects the neuromuscular junction. Neuromuscular junction is the connection or meeting place of the nerve and a muscle fiber. The nerves communicate with the muscle fiber by telling it to move or contract. The nerves
The main symptom of myofascial pain syndrome is a deep, aching pain in a muscle. This pain persists and worsens over time making life more and more difficult. A tender knot in a muscle can also be felt, which is known as the trigger point. Difficulty sleeping is also a common symptom. Someone can experience difficulty falling asleep and sleep disturbances. The pain areas affected most often are muscles, back, mouth and face, or neck. Also common are tenderness, fatigue, muscle spasms, or
Some symptoms of Myasthenia gravis can be having droopy eyes, double vision, partial paralysis of eye movement, problems in jaw and/or chewing something, and fatigue in the neck. Some causes for this disease are unclear but the researchers are saying that maybe the viruses and bacteria are the ones triggering the autoimmune response in the body. They also think that the thymus gland might play a role in this forming of the disease. Some risk factors would be getting the Myasthenia gravis when a family member suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and lupus may have a more increased rate of getting the disease. A diagnosis procedure will include a check up with a neurologist and have a physical exam with him or her. They will see how weak one is. One will also do a blood test to detect the amount of antibodies one has in their body and seeing if they have a positive result or a negative result. Positive result is a confirmation of being diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis. If one gets a negative, that person will go through electro diagnostictesting to measure the amount of electrical signals one has in their muscle. Then he or she will go through MRI scans along with a CT scan and doing a chest
Affecting about 20 out of 100,000 people per year in the United States, myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune muscular junction disease that targets nerves and muscles (What is Myasthenia Gravis, 2010). Myasthenia gravis attacks voluntary muscles such as the facial muscles, limbs and other muscles, making these muscles weak and sometimes immovable. Someone who has myasthenia gravis that has attacked the face can have droopy eyes, blurred vision and might lack the ability to smile because of the weakening of muscles (Pressman 2014). Patients with the disease in other muscles might have a hard time stabilizing their neck and even performing simple everyday tasks. When a person becomes tired, the symptoms worsen. However in most cases, when
Myasthenia gravis may affect any voluntary muscles. They may affect muscles that control the eyelid movement, facial expression and swallowing. The most symptoms of myasthenia gravis that can be noticed are the weakness of the eye muscle that causes double vision. Some symptoms of myasthenia gravis may include unstable walk, arm weakness, weakness in hands, fingers, legs and neck, change in facial expression, having a hard time swallowing, shortness of breath, and having problems with
Guillain Barre Syndrome is an immune system disorder where the peripheral nervous system is affected. What this disease does is that its own immune system, instead of attacking foreign signals it starts to attack itself. This disease specifically affects the nervous system’s function because it doesn’t allow the transmission of nerve signals in the body. In Guillain Barre disease the myelin sheaths are degraded, Myelin wrap around the neuron and helps speed the conduction of the electrical impulses that occur in the body. Therefore, with the degrading of Myelin sheaths it prohibits the body from receiving sensory signals. This results the body to not feel things such as texture or pain and result in muscle weakness and or painful
Although there are over 30 kinds of MD, only the most prevalent and common MD’s will be covered in this paper including: Duchenne MD, Myotonic MD, Becker MD, Limb Girdle MD, Fascioscapulohumeral MD, Oculopharngeal MD, Distal MD, Emery Dreifus MD, and Congenital MD. Although all these variations of MD differ in severity, muscle groups being affected, outlook of diseases, inheritance, and the cause of the defects, there are some similarities. All MDs cause progressive weakness, and atrophy of the muscles. There is no cure for any of MDs mentioned above. All require an accurate diagnosis in order to orchestrate an effective plan of care to improve quality of life. All are caused by a mutated gene or absence of that gene 1. All can be passed on in a familial tree once a person is diagnosed. The most common symptoms that all MDs share are progressive muscle weakness, poor balance, frequent falls, problems walking, delay in development of muscle skills, difficulty with a specific muscle groups. Other forms may include slowing of the mind, drooping eyelids, drooling, scoliosis, skeletal deformities, muscle deformities, claw foot, claw hand, enlargement of calf muscle, and other contractual deformities 3. It is important to remember that these symptoms are more severe or noticeable in each variation.
The clinical manifestations include bleached, tired, disappearance of tendon reflex and decrease of blood pressure, etc. Respiratory depression, lethargy and coma, and even cardiac arrest can occure in advanced stage. It should be treated with intravenous infusion 10-20 ml of 10% calcium phosphate or calcium chloride solution in order to fight against the inhibition of magnesium on the heart and muscle. And it should actively correct the acidosis and water shortage at the same time. If the effect is not so good, it need to be treated by
Myositis is a medical term for inflammation of the muscles. Weakness, swelling, and pain are the most common symptoms. Inflammation in the muscles are caused by the body attacks its own tissues. Certain infections can cause myositis such as bacteria fungi or any other organism. Statins , Colochicine, Alpha-interferon, Cocaine , and Alcohol can cause myositis also. Treatment for myositis varies according to the
Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder that is characterized by fatigue and exhaustion of muscle. The skeletal muscles is having different degrees of weakness and this occurs when nerve cells and muscle are not be able to communicate efficiently and becomes impaired. This impairment put a stop to the muscle contraction from occurring which can lead to muscle weakness. Myasthenia Gravis originally comes from the Latin and Greek words that means “grave muscle weakness’’. According to Osserman (as cited in Turner, 2007) MG is divided into four groups based on the severity of the disease - ocular myasthenia, generalised myasthenia of mild or moderate severity, severe generalised myasthenia, and myasthenic crisis with respiratory failure. The history of MG dated