Myasthenia gravis is a disorder of the junction between the nerves and the skeletal muscles. The result is that muscles get steadily weaker finally leading to respiratory failure. For almost all patients, current therapies mean that this disease does neither interfere with their daily activities, nor shorten their life.
Disease: Myasthenia Gravis
Last update: May 2005
Intro
FAQ
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What is it?
Myasthenia gravis results in a steady weakening of the muscles. It is caused by the body producing antibodies that block the transmission of nerve signals to the muscle. It is usually a progressive disease, though some patients do spontaneously improve early in the course of their illness. In extreme cases patients can die due to severe weakness and respiratory failure.
Myasthenia gravis often affects the muscles of the eye, mouth and throat and also the arms, hands, legs and neck. -
Who gets it?
Myasthenia gravis is more common in women than in men, and occurs across all ethnic groups. It is not an inherited disease.
Age of onset is usually the teens and twenties for women and the sixties and seventies for men. There are currently estimated to be approximately 72,000 cases of myasthenia gravis in Europe. -
What can be done about it?
Effective treatments available mean that patients no longer have their life expectancy shortened by myasthenia gravis.
Surgery to remove the thymus (an organ involved in controlling the immune system) can be recommended, particularly in young people early in the course of their disease.
Specific treatments are given to help improve nerve transmission or to modify the body's immune response and prevent the production of antibodies. -
What does the future hold?
Much of the current research into myasthenia gravis involves treatments that target the immune system and the antibodies that cause the disease.
There are also several other theoretical treatment strategies undergoing active investigation.