an autoimmune disease in which the individual makes antibodies against the acetylcholine receptors on their own skeletal muscle cells; characterized by progressive weakness of the voluntary muscles, especially those of the eyelids.
Myasthenia Gravis (MG): "· is a chronic neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the skeletal or voluntary muscles of the body. The muscle weakness increases during periods of activity and improves after periods of rest. MG most commonly occurs in young adult women and older men, but it can occur at any age. Although MG may affect any voluntary muscle, certain muscles including those that control eye movements, eye lids, chewing, swallowing, coughing, and facial expressions are more often affected. Weakness may also occur in the muscles that control breathing and arm and leg movements. The muscles involved in MG vary from one individual to the next." Learn more at http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/myasthenia_gravis.htm Click "BACK" on your browser to return to the previous page.
Recommendation Essential Fatty Acids" Essential fatty acids have been shown to suppress autoimmune attacks in general and to help protect myelin sheaths..."
disorder of the neuromuscular junction presenting as fatiguable weakness and associated with antibodies to the nictonic acetylcholine receptor. The extraocular, facial, bulbar and proximal limb muscles are especially susceptible to the disease process
Disorder of muscles, especially the face and head, with increasing fatigue and weakness as muscles are used.
a disease in which the muscles, mainly those in the face, eyes, throat, and limbs, become weak and tire quickly; caused by the body's immune system attacking the receptors in the muscles that pick up nerve impulses
Relationship to Thymoma"About 15% of patients with myasthenia gravis are found to have a tumor of the thymus gland, known as a thymoma..." Recommendation Surgery"The thymus is thought to play an important role in the development of the disease by supplying helper T cells sensitized against thymic nicotinic receptors..."
Recommendation Test for DHEA" DHEA is almost always low in patients with autoimmune conditions such as myasthenia gravis..."
A chronic disease characterized by muscular weakness and fatigue.
Recommendation Essential Fatty Acids"...A blend of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may provide supportive benefit in the treatment of myasthenia gravis..."
An autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the myelin sheaths of muscular nerves.
A muscular weakness due to a reduction in the number of acetylcholine receptor sites on the sarcolemmal surface; suspected to be an autoimmune disorder.
a neuromuscular disorder, with onset primarily in adulthood, characterized by fluctuating muscle weakness, especially in the face and throat
a chronic progressive disease characterized by chronic fatigue and muscular weakness (especially in the face and neck); caused by a deficiency of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junctions
Autoimmune disease sometimes related to thyroid conditions. Signs are droopy eyelids or double vision that worsen toward the end of the day.
Recommendation Potassium"The weakness of myasthenia gravis may be improved by potassium consumption, if dietary potassium is low..."
Recommendation Aerobic Exercise"Available literature indicates that patients with myasthenia gravis may benefit from both a strengthening as well as an aerobic/ cardiovascular fitness program..."
A disorder of neuromuscular function characterized by muscular weakness and fatigue. It may affect any muscle of the body, but especially those of the eye, face, lips, tongue, throat, and neck.
a disorder of the neuromuscular junction resulting in muscle weakness.
A chronic, autoimmune disorder which causes muscle weakness and excessive muscle fatigue, thought to be caused by a faulty immune system. search for Myasthenia Gravis
A neurological disease characterized by easy fatigue of certain voluntary muscles after repeated use, especially those of the face or upper trunk.
A disorder affecting the space between the nerve and the muscle (neuromuscular junction) that results in transient motor weakness of the face and limbs. Due to an autoimmune process affecting the chemical Acetylcholine.
Double vision or eyelid droop that worsens toward the end of day. May also have other muscle weakness. Caused by viral infection or permanent neurological condition.
Weakness of the voluntary muscles, believed to be autoimmune in nature. Symptoms include double vision and eyelid ptosis; patients sometimes have non-eye symptoms as well, such as difficulty swallowing or using the arms and legs.
A disease in which acetylcholine receptors on the muscle cells are destroyed, so that muscles can no longer respond to the acetylcholine signal in order to contract. Symptoms include muscular weakness and progressively more common bouts of fatigue. Its cause is unknown but is more common in females than in males and usually strikes between the ages of 20 and 50.
A disease in which the immune system attacks the nerves and muscles in the neck, causing weakness and problems with seeing, chewing, and/or talking.
a disease usually affecting the muscles of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, throat, or neck, causing a muscle weakness, disability, and fatigue
An autoimmune neuromuscular disorder characterized by fatigue and exhaustion of muscles. Myasthenia gravis is caused by a mistaken immune response to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR), which are found in junctions between muscles and the nervous system . The body produces antibodies that attack these AChR receptors, preventing signals from reaching the muscles. Proof that the anti-AChR antibodies are responsible for myasthenia comes from the effect these antibodies can have on the unborn and the newborn. See the entire definition of Myasthenia gravis
(MY-us-THEE-nee-uh GRA-vis) A disease in which antibodies made by a person's immune system prevent certain nerve-muscle interactions. It causes weakness in the arms and legs, vision problems, and drooping eyelids or head. It may also cause paralysis and problems with swallowing, talking, climbing stairs, lifting things, and getting up from a sitting position. The muscle weakness gets worse during activity, and improves after periods of rest.
A disease characterized by fluctuating weakness of eye muscles, face muscles, chewing, swallowing, vocalization, breathing, neck or limb muscles, made worse by use of those muscles and improved at least partially by rest of the same muscles, with little muscle atrophy and no sensory abnormalities.
a life-long condition in which the body's immune system fights its own body. This causes problems with the nerves that provide communication to the muscles resulting in muscle weakness. This disease affects the voluntary muscles of the body that include the face, neck, chest, arms, and legs.
Recommendation Manganese" Manganese deficiency has been linked to myasthenia gravis..."
The Condition"...Normally when impulses travel down the nerve, the nerve endings release a neurotransmitter substance called acetylcholine..." Recommendation Lecithin / Choline"To increase acetylcholine levels add phosphytidal choline (lecithin) 1gm bid..." Recommendation Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)"To enhance acetylcholine levels take pantothenic acid 100mg daily..." Recommendation Vitamin B12 (Cobalamine)"To enhance acetylcholine levels take vitamin B12 1000mcg sublingually each day..." Recommendation Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)"To enhance acetylcholine levels take thiamine 100mg daily..." Recommendation Manganese"...Inadequate choline utilization reduces acetylcholine synthesis, contributing to conditions such as myasthenia gravis..."
Recommendation Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)"...There is sufficient evidence to believe that coenzyme A, which is the physiologically active form of pantothenic acid in animals, is in limited supply in cases of myasthenia gravis..."
Recommendation Manganese"...Manganese activates several enzyme systems and supports the utilization of vitamin C, E, choline, and other B-vitamins..." Recommendation Lecithin / Choline"To increase acetylcholine levels add phosphytidal choline (lecithin) 1gm bid..."
Myasthenia gravis (sometimes abbreviated MG; from the Greek myastheneia, lit. 'muscle disease', and Latin gravis, 'serious') is a neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability. At about 14 cases per 100,000 (in the U.S.), it is one of the lesser known autoimmune disorders. Weakness is typically caused by circulating antibodies that block acetylcholine receptors at the post-synaptic neuromuscular junction, inhibiting the stimulative effect of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.