Definition:
Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disorder of the neuromuscular system part of the body. Chronic means persisting for a long time or constantly recurring. Autoimmune disorder is the confusion of the body’s immune system. The immune system form antibodies that mistakenly identify healthy tissue as foreign and then, the antibodies will attack and/or destroy healthy body tissue. Neuromuscular is the nervous system relationship with the muscles bring about body movement.
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
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Speech may be slurred and facial expressions may be limited, making it hard to smile. It may be difficult to hold head up due to weak neck muscles. Weak limb muscles cause difficulty walking, climbing stairs, lifting objects, or holding arms up. Raising the body from a seated position may cause difficulty. Chest muscles may also be affected, causing difficulty with breathing. This particular symptom may cause serious problems, called a myasthenic crisis
Diagnosis:
MG may be difficult to diagnose and may not be determined for a couple of years. Reasons are as follows: the onset is gradual with the symptoms worsening over time, weakness and fatigue can also be signs and symptoms of other diseases, one or more of the voluntary muscle groups may experience weakness and with different degrees of severity, and also every patient may experiences the disease differently. After the medical history and physical examination, the physician may see a need for further muscle and neurological tests. Blood tests can detect abnormal antibodies. Nerve conduction studies and repetitive stimulation tests the nerve’s communication with the muscle. When stimulated a number of times the test will indicate muscle weakness. Single-fiber (EMG) electromyography is a test that measures the communication between the nerve and a muscle by inserting a small needle into a single muscle and recording the electrical muscle activity. CT scan or MRI may be ordered to check for
The structure of neuromuscular junction consists of a neuron and skeletal muscle cell. The motor neurons, which arise from the spinal cord, supply the skeletal muscle fibers. The neuromuscular junction is un-myelin nerve with a bulb shape at the endings that contract the muscle fiber. The schwann cells form a covering over the postsynaptic membrane and nerve membrane of the fiber that is located under the terminal and is categorized as a post-junction folds. The area between the folds and the bulbs create the synaptic cleft. This consists of proteins and proteoglycans. The enzyme acetylcholinesterase; exist only at high levels in the synaptic basal lamina (UMN,
Myasthenia gravis [MG] is a rare, autoimmune neuromuscular disorder. The incidence rates has been reported as 2-7/10000 in central and western Virginia ( Thanvi ,2004).The onset of [MG] is depends on age and gender .In patients younger than 40 years, women are more susceptible than man to [MG],with a ratio of 7:3 :Above the age 50 [MG] are slightly more common in men with a ratio 3:2.Myasthenia gravis are very rare in children.Juvinile [MG] is an autoimmune disorder ,while congenital [MG] results from genetic mutations that impair neuromuscular transmission. It has been suggested that incidence of [MG] falls after 70 years of age. A recent study using AChR antibody as a diagnostic
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).
As time progresses, the damage implemented by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy can become life-threatening. Whilst, the respiratory function may weaken by affecting the diaphragm and other muscles that engage the lungs, causing the lungs to perform less effectively in moving the air in and out. Although, people affected by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy may not complain of short breathe, however, other symptoms which may occur include headaches, mental dullness, lack of concentration, staying awake, and
Although patients can be preliminarily diagnosed with the syndrome based on an analysis of the physical symptoms, two tests can be used to confirm the diagnosis of GBS. The first is a lumbar puncture, or spinal tap, in order to obtain a small amount of spinal fluid for analysis. The spinal fluid of those with GBS often contains more protein than usual. The second is an electromyogram (EMG), which is an electrical measure of nerve conduction and muscle activity. (3) (4) The symptoms of GBS begin with numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes leading to weakness in the arms, legs, face, and breathing muscles. The weakness begins in the lower portion of the body and rapidly moves upward. This weakness eventually leads to loss of sensation in the affected areas; although a number of cases are mild, temporary limb paralysis is not uncommon. In the milder cases, the numbness can only cause difficulty in walking, "requiring sticks, crutches, or a walking frame." (3) Pain is not uncommon, and abnormal sensations, such as the feeling of "pins-and-needles," can affect both sides of the body equally. Loss
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 first symptoms can include weakness or tingling in the arms and legs. This disease process is ascending so the weakness will start in the toes or fingertips and progresses upward. The paralysis generally is similar on both sides of the body. This can occur within a couple of days to increasing through a few weeks. Patients can also have a decreased reflex in knees and weakness in respiratory muscles and swallowing. Some other symptoms can include pain such as aching in the shoulders, back, buttocks, and thighs. Respiratory complaints in these patients can include; dyspnea while active, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, and slurred speech.
B. Walking becomes difficult, if a fall occurs, the person may not be able to stand back up alone. Driving is relinquished. Weakness in swallowing muscle may cause choking, and greater difficulty eating and managing saliva.
Common impairments & functional limitations: muscle weakness, low muscle tone, hyporeflexia, poor voluntary muscle activation and control, muscle incoordination, scoliosis, trouble with sit-to-stands, trouble climbing stairs, trouble ambulating long distances, trouble standing unassisted,
A diagnosis usually begins with a physical examination, where the doctor might ask the patient to perform various tasks, such as walking on their heels or testing their knee-jerk reflexes (Muscular Dystrophy Association). Furthermore, family history of the disease is considered, and often times a genetic test is performed, which is done by drawing blood and looking for any genetic defects related to CMT. Finally, a nerve conduction test may be done, to test how quickly the patient's nerves detect electrical signals (Muscular Dystrophy Association). However, diagnosis can often be difficult given that many doctors are not familiar with CMT, and the symptoms are very similar to those of other neurological diseases (Hereditary Neuropathy
This disease is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body’s own healthy tissues. The immune system attacks neuromuscular junctions, which are the areas where a person’s nerves and muscles connects. This then affects the way muscles and nerves communicate and make it difficult to move muscles. LEMS
respiratory insufficiency, if a victim were to have a respiratory failure, this would lead to life-threatening complications
It happens when your nerve endings fail to interact properly with your muscles. MG usually affects the muscles of the eyes, face, neck, arms, and legs. MG is most common in young women 20 to 30 years of age, and in men 60 to 70 years of age.(Myasthenia) What makes this relevant is that Myasthenia Gravis can be developed in the human body if you are exposed to neurotoxins like Sarin. On base by the Syrian border, sirens were triggered daily and the officials at the base said that they were false alarms even though they knew that they were not. “A woman named Tracy Elledge, a former combat engineer and one of the veterans I interviewed, said, “Alarms went off all the time.… Our officers told us they were false and to disconnect
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an acquired demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that typically is diagnosed in the second or third decade of life. Normally, nerves are enclosed in myelin sheaths that help facilitate transmission of nerve impulses within the CNS and the peripheral nervous system throughout the body. In patients with MS, the myelin sheath is damaged and eventually degenerates, causing patches of scar tissue called plaques or lesions to occur anywhere randomly on the myelin sheath (Ruto, 2013). This results in impaired nerve conductivity, which interferes with message transmission between the brain and the other parts of the body. As a result, impulse transmission is altered, distorted, short-circuited, or completely absent. This interference in impulse transmission creates muscle weakness, muscle imbalance, and possibly muscle spasms with partial or complete paralysis. Multiple sclerosis also can result in visual impairment and alteration of cognitive abilities, as well as pain, numbness, or tingling sensations (Ruto, 2013).
Multiple sclerosis has no single diagnostic test. Rather, evidence helps the diagnosis which there are three: First, the white matter of the central nervous system should have two different lesions. Second, the course of the disease should happen episodically. Lastly, a chronic inflammation of the CNS (1). In order for physicians to make a diagnosis, they have to find damage in two areas of the optic nerves, the brain, and the spinal cord. They must also observe if the symptoms would last more than 24 hours as well as observing episodes of a month or more (3). Then, they will give the patient an MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging where it can investigate physiology and the anatomy of a human body to display his or her health and whether he or she has such a disease.