Myasthenia gravis is a disease that is accompanied by increased muscle weakness. A similar disease was first described in 1672. According to statistics, this ailment is not too common. Nevertheless, many people are interested in questions about why myasthenia gravis occurs, what it is and what signs it is accompanied by. Indeed, the treatment regimen and the quality of life of a sick person depend on early diagnosis.
Myasthenia gravis - what is it? Causes of the disease
If everything is normal, when excited, acetylcholine enters the synaptic cleft, where it acts on specific receptors of the muscle membrane - thus, stimulation and contraction of muscle fiber occurs. But with myasthenia gravis this mechanism of transmission of the nerve impulse is impaired.
It is immediately worth noting that myasthenia gravis is a genetic disease. And today it is customary to distinguish two main forms of its development. In some cases, a malfunction in the process of transmission of a nerve impulse is associated with a violation of the normal functioning of the hypothalamus. Another common cause of the disease is autoimmune damage to the thymus gland, which leads to a decrease in the amount of synthesized acetylcholine.
There is the so-called neonatal myasthenia gravis. What it is? This form of the disease is observed in newborns if their mothers suffer from a violation of neuromuscular conduction.
Signs of the disease can occur in the first days after birth, as well as in adulthood. There are some risk factors under the influence of which myasthenia gravis develops. The causes of an attack of muscle weakness can lie in severe stress, nervous strain, transmitted infectious diseases and impaired immune system.
The main symptoms of myasthenia gravis
As already mentioned, the main symptom of the disease is muscle weakness. In the morning, patients usually feel completely normal. But after only a few hours, the skeletal muscles get tired and stop functioning, up to complete paralysis. After resting, the ability to contract is restored.
Depending on the group of affected nerves, it is customary to distinguish three main forms of the disease:
- Quite often, the disease affects the muscles that are innervated by cranial nerves. And the main symptom in this case is ptosis. If after resting a person can fully open his eyes, then after several hours there is a gradual lowering of the upper eyelids.
- There is bulbar myasthenia gravis. What it is? This form of the disease is accompanied by a violation of the transmission of a nerve impulse to the muscles that respond to swallowing, chewing and some other processes. Sick people have problems with eating, and there is also a gradual change in voice, up to its complete disappearance.
- Most often, a generalized form of the disease is diagnosed, in which the eye muscles are first affected, after which the process goes to the neck, upper limbs, etc.
Methods for treating myasthenia gravis
It is worth noting that the disease of myasthenia gravis is extremely dangerous and requires qualified medical care. The fact is that this disease is characterized by so-called crises, which are accompanied by temporary paralysis of the respiratory muscles, and this is a direct threat to life.
The only effective treatment is taking acetylcholinesterase-containing drugs — Proserpine and Kalimin. Such therapy lasts for years, and the dose of the medicine is constantly changing depending on the condition and rate of development of the disease. If myasthenia gravis develops against a thymus tumor, an operation is performed to remove this organ.