Myasthenia Gravis Symptom

Myasthenia gravis patients face lifelong battle with autoimmune neuromuscular ...

FACTS AND RESOURCES

June is Myasthenia Gravis (MG) Month.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association estimates that MG affects two to seven out of every 10,000 people in Western countries.
The expectation is that an MG patient will live a normal lifespan, but that was not always the case. In the 1930s, and even into the 1950s, before there were ICUs, 50 percent of MG patients died, said Dr. Henry Kaminski, an MG specialist.

CONTACTS

866-749-0844, Alabama MG hotline
800-541-5454, Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America Inc. (MGFA)
MGFA’s website: www.myasthenia.org
In the tri-county area, MG patients who are interested in joining the local MG support group may call Voncile Gissendaner-Wilson at 244-0509. Meetings are usually held quarterly, but there was no meeting in June. The next one likely will be in September. Caregivers are welcome at the meetings.

Doctors at Emory University diagnosed her with MG, and soon performed a thymectomy -- a surgical removal of the thymus gland. The thymus plays a role in the development of the body's immune system and in the development of MG. Sometimes a tumor on the gland is to blame, but only about 10 percent of the time. Even without a tumor present, a thymectomy can improve a patient's weakness, but that's generally in the long term. The goal of drugs and other treatments is remission -- no symptoms of the disease and no medications for a year. Perhaps a third of all MG patients with proper treatment can achieve remission after five years, said Dr. Henry Kaminski, a professor of neurology and chairman of the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at Saint Louis University. He's treated MG patients for about 20 years and does research into MG, funded by the National Institutes of Health. A must for MG patients is having an advocate -- a friend or family member who can speak for the patient when she is unable to do so. This advocate has to be able to communicate with medical personnel and be assertive about what kind of treatments should or should not be given to the patient. For that reason, the advocate can't be passive, or easily intimidated by doctors.

Signs and Symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis | Nursing Diagnosis Nanda

Is fatigability. Muscles become progressively weaker during periods of activity and improve after periods of rest. Muscles that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expressions, chewing, talking, and swallowing are especially susceptible. The muscles that control breathing and neck and limb movements can also be affected. Often, the physical examination yields results within normal limits. In most cases, the first noticeable symptom is weakness of the eye muscles. In others, difficulty in swallowing and slurred speech may be the first signs. The degree of muscle weakness involved in MG varies greatly among patients, ranging from a localized form that is limited to eye muscles (ocular myasthenia), to a severe and generalized form in which many muscles - sometimes including those that control breathing - are affected. Symptoms, which vary in type and severity, may include asymmetrical ptosis (a drooping of one or both eyelids), diplopia (double vision) due to weakness of the muscles that control eye movements, an unstable or waddling gait, weakness in arms, hands, fingers, legs, and neck, a change in facial expression, dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), shortness of breath and dysarthria (impaired speech, often nasal due to weakness of the velar muscles). In myasthenic crisis a paralysis of the respiratory muscles occurs, necessitating assisted ventilation to sustain life. In patients whose respiratory muscles are already weak, crises may be triggered by infection, fever, an adverse reaction to medication, or emotional stress.[5] Since the heart muscle is only regulated by the autonomic nervous system, it is generally unaffected by MG.

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