Clinical Immunology focuses on the immune system’s health. Learn about the diagnosis and treatment of allergies, autoimmune diseases, and immunodeficiencies.
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Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles, which help us breathe and move our arms and legs. Muscle weakness in MG usually gets worse with activity and improves with rest. The name comes from Greek and Latin, meaning “grave, or serious, muscle weakness.” There is no cure yet, but treatments can control symptoms and help people live well. MG affects how nerves communicate with muscles, disrupting the signals at the neuromuscular junction.
To understand Myasthenia Gravis, it helps to know how muscles contract. When a nerve signal reaches the end of a nerve, it releases a chemical called acetylcholine. This chemical crosses the gap to reach the muscle fiber at the neuromuscular junction.
Disorders of the immune system generally fall into three distinct categories based on how the system is failing:
This problem happens because the immune system makes a mistake. Instead of defending the body from germs, it attacks the body’s own tissues.
nsitivity (Allergy): The immune system “overreacts” to a harmless substance (allergen), such as pollen, food, or medication, causing damage to the body. This includes conditions like hay fever, asthma, food allergies, and eczema.
About half of people who get MG first notice problems with their eyes. In this form, the disease only affects the muscles that move the eyes and control the eyelids.
Generalized MG causes weakness in more areas of the body. It often begins with the eyes but then spreads to other muscle groups.
The thymus gland, which is part of the immune system and sits in the chest under the breastbone, plays an important role in MG.
Some people with generalized myasthenia gravis do not have detectable antibodies against AChR, MuSK, or LRP4 in standard blood tests.
This temporary condition can affect babies whose mothers have myasthenia gravis.
A myasthenic crisis is a medical emergency. It happens when the breathing muscles become so weak that a person needs a ventilator to help them breathe.
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No, Myasthenia Gravis is not infectious. It is an autoimmune disorder and cannot be spread from person to person.
MG is not directly inherited in the way that eye color is. However, autoimmune diseases can run in families, suggesting a genetic predisposition.
There is no absolute cure, but treatment can lead to significant improvement. Some patients achieve remission, where they have no symptoms and need no medication.
With current treatments, the life expectancy for people with MG is normal. Most people live whole, active lives.
No, MG does not affect the neuromuscular junction. It does not affect sensation, intelligence, or the central nervous system itself.
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