Live Life Team
Myasthenia gravis refers to the condition that leads the muscles in the body to become tired easily and week. This condition can affect any muscle that can be voluntarily controlled. Those muscles that cannot be controlled voluntarily are left unaffected, like the heart muscles. The most commonly affected muscles are those which control chewing, talking, swallowing, facial expressions, eye and eyelid movement, the arms and legs. It is common among men over the age of 60 and woman under the age of 40.
Symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis
The symptoms according the different muscles that might have been affected are:
Sagging of one or both the eyelids
Double, blurred and unclear vision
Problems in chewing and swallowing food
Problems in talking properly, which lead to indistinct speech
Breathing difficulties, especially while lying flat or exercising
Feebleness in the arm, leg and neck muscles, resulting in difficulties in picking or lifting, walking or running, and holding up your head
Physical activity bringing about fatigue
An MG muscle improves with rest and worsens with stress. Also hot weather and infections weaken the muscles. The symptoms get more severe in woman during their period.
Causes of Myasthenia Gravis
A muscle is made up of muscle fibres. So as to make a muscle tighten, the brain passes an electrical signal to the nerve endings which lie close to the muscle fibres, through the nervous system. This electrical indication, initiates the discharge of acetylcholine, a chemical present in the nerve endings. This chemical fills up the gap between the muscle fibres and the nerve endings, connecting to receptor cells, resulting in a muscle contraction. Then another chemical, acetyl cholinesterase overcomes the acetylcholine, relaxing the muscle.
MG results in the production of antibodies that disrupt the muscle receptor cells, lowering the availability on the muscle fibres. This leads to a faulty communication between the muscles and nerves. MG may even appear due to family heredity.
Diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis
Some out of several tests that can be carried out to detect and diagnose MG are:
A blood test – used to check the antibodies that lead to MG, although in most of the people who have been afflicted by MG, it is not that high which can be easily detectable
An electromyogram – used to detect the mutations that take place In the muscle activities which are caused by MG
An injection of the edrophonium drug can be given. This lead to a quick, but concise betterment in the strength of the muscle of those with MG.
For those who have a thymus tumour, a CT scan of the chest can be performed the check the shape and size of the tumour.
Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis
There is no permanent cure for MG, although a number of treatments are available to keep the symptoms in control. For those with a milder form of symptoms, rest and a peaceful night’s sleep seems to be the best remedy. Medicines like cholinesterase inhibitors obstruct the actions of the chemical that is responsible for the relaxation of the muscle. For those who have the thymus tumour, it can be removed by carrying out a surgery. Steroids are also used to treat MG. If the symptoms get life threatening, either plasmaphoresis or intravenous immunoglobulin can be carried out.
Other than medical measures, several self care methods can be adopted, such as:
Eating when the muscles are at their stronger; taking time to eat and keeping regular intervals between bites
Use more of electrical rather than manual equipments
Plan activities according to your energy levels.
