Myasthenia Gravis: Symptoms
What is Myasthenia Gravis?
Myasthenia Gravis
Many people may have the question, what is Myasthenia Gravis? Well, Myasthenia Gravis is a disorder that is caused by an abnormal defect in the transmission of nerves to the muscle. In Latin and Greek this is translated into “grave muscle weakness” although this disorder does not lead to the grave but the total opposite of that. This means that the communication between the nerves are not connecting nor working as they should be. (Myasthenia Gravis Fact Sheet. (2010 September, 1)) (Retrieved February 9, 2016). This disorder is a is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease which is or relating to a disease caused by antibodies in the nerves and muscles. Nerve signals have to go back and forth …show more content…
. This is just the basics of what Myasthenia Gravis is but now here comes the warning and signs of this disorder.
Symptoms:
There are many symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis. One of the biggest symptoms are difficulty with facial expressions and movement, which was mentioned in paragraph one, another key symptom is weakness of the eye muscle and sometimes having slurred speech. Many people have this disorder but when they go to the doctor this is not what they expect at first but later on recognized as Myasthenia Gravis. (Myasthenia Gravis Fact Sheet. (2010 September, 1)) Retrieved February 11, 2016). The symptoms of this varies depending on the patient who has it. Myasthenia Gravis looks like a severely bad “lazy eye” this lazy eye could happen in both eyes making it difficult to see, also making people have shortness of breath. (Myasthenia gravis. (n.d.)). Retrieved February 11, 2016). This could also lead to weakness in the arms, hands, fingers, legs, and neck. With all of these symptoms there are also many diagnostics. …show more content…
This disorder is most of the time looked over so the diagnosis is often delayed or just missed all together. The first steps in diagnosing Myasthenia Gravis is checking an individuals medical history and after that they take physical and neurological examinations. When doctors are more than certain the disorder is characterized as Myasthenia Gravis they can preform a special blood test that can detect the immune molecules or acetylcholine receptors antibodies. They check for this because Myasthenia Gravis has a abnormally high levels of the antibodies. Most of the test can be configured through your blood but another test is the edrophonium test which uses edrophonium chloride to briefly relieve the weakness in the patients. This drug blocks the breakdown of acetylcholine and increases the levels tremendously. (Myasthenia Gravis Fact Sheet. (2010 September, 1)). (Retrieved February 8, 2016). Myasthenia Gravis can affect anyone of any age but it is most common in women that are younger than 60. (Myasthenia gravis. (n.d.)). (Retrieved February 11, 2016,). Although there are many test
Myasthenia Gravis
Many people may have the question, what is Myasthenia Gravis? Well, Myasthenia Gravis is a disorder that is caused by an abnormal defect in the transmission of nerves to the muscle. In Latin and Greek this is translated into “grave muscle weakness” although this disorder does not lead to the grave but the total opposite of that. This means that the communication between the nerves are not connecting nor working as they should be. (Myasthenia Gravis Fact Sheet. (2010 September, 1)) (Retrieved February 9, 2016). This disorder is a is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease which is or relating to a disease caused by antibodies in the nerves and muscles. Nerve signals have to go back and forth …show more content…
. This is just the basics of what Myasthenia Gravis is but now here comes the warning and signs of this disorder.
Symptoms:
There are many symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis. One of the biggest symptoms are difficulty with facial expressions and movement, which was mentioned in paragraph one, another key symptom is weakness of the eye muscle and sometimes having slurred speech. Many people have this disorder but when they go to the doctor this is not what they expect at first but later on recognized as Myasthenia Gravis. (Myasthenia Gravis Fact Sheet. (2010 September, 1)) Retrieved February 11, 2016). The symptoms of this varies depending on the patient who has it. Myasthenia Gravis looks like a severely bad “lazy eye” this lazy eye could happen in both eyes making it difficult to see, also making people have shortness of breath. (Myasthenia gravis. (n.d.)). Retrieved February 11, 2016). This could also lead to weakness in the arms, hands, fingers, legs, and neck. With all of these symptoms there are also many diagnostics. …show more content…
This disorder is most of the time looked over so the diagnosis is often delayed or just missed all together. The first steps in diagnosing Myasthenia Gravis is checking an individuals medical history and after that they take physical and neurological examinations. When doctors are more than certain the disorder is characterized as Myasthenia Gravis they can preform a special blood test that can detect the immune molecules or acetylcholine receptors antibodies. They check for this because Myasthenia Gravis has a abnormally high levels of the antibodies. Most of the test can be configured through your blood but another test is the edrophonium test which uses edrophonium chloride to briefly relieve the weakness in the patients. This drug blocks the breakdown of acetylcholine and increases the levels tremendously. (Myasthenia Gravis Fact Sheet. (2010 September, 1)). (Retrieved February 8, 2016). Myasthenia Gravis can affect anyone of any age but it is most common in women that are younger than 60. (Myasthenia gravis. (n.d.)). (Retrieved February 11, 2016,). Although there are many test