Medical Management

Many drugs and procedures are available for treating MG, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages. Drugs known as cholinesterase inhibitors provide relief from symptoms by blocking the action of acetylcholinesterase and increasing the amount of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction. (For a more detailed explanation of how these drugs work, see Causes/Inheritance.)

Causes/Inheritance

What causes myasthenia gravis (MG)?

The immune system in myasthenia gravis

Diagnosis

Weakness and fatigue are common complaints in the general population, but the degree and pattern of these symptoms — particularly diplopia, ptosis and other signs of weakness in the eye muscles — should alert a neurologist to the possibility of myasthenia gravis (MG).

Signs and Symptoms

Myasthenia gravis (MG) weakens and fatigues the body’s voluntary muscles (those we can move at will). It doesn’t damage the musculature of the heart or the gastrointestinal tract.

Early in its course, MG tends to affect the muscles that control movement of the eyes and eyelids, causing ocular weakness. Consequently, a partial paralysis of eye movements (ophthalmoparesis), double vision (diplopia) and droopy eyelids (ptosis) are usually among the first symptoms of MG.

Overview

What is myasthenia gravis?

Muscles affected in myasthenia gravis
Description: 

MDA leads the search for treatments and therapies for myasthenia gravis (MG). The Association also provides comprehensive supports and expert clinical care for those living with MG.

In this section, you’ll find up-to-date information about myasthenia gravis, as well as many helpful resources. This information has been compiled with input from researchers, physicians and people affected by the disease.

Researchers Exploring Disability Perceptions

Researchers at the Psychology of Disability Lab at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor are exploring the social identity of people with disabilities through a short, anonymous, Web-based questionnaire.

The lab's Disability Identity Project is being headed by principal investigator Adena Rottenstein, a doctoral candidate in psychology.

The study closes the week of Aug. 22, 2011.

AAN Research Briefs on DM, DMD, LGMD, MG, MMD, SMA

Below are brief reports and links to more information about neuromuscular disease research presented at the 63rd annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), held in Honolulu April 9-16, 2011.

MDA Awards Grant to Test Potential MG Treatment

MDA’s translational research program has announced it is funding research into a potential treatment for the autoimmune disorder myasthenia gravis (MG).

The grant of $530,480 to University of Illinois-Chicago professor Matthew Meriggioli will fund a three-year study of an immune-system modulator called GM-CSF. The compound will be tested in a mouse model of MG and in a small group of human subjects.

MDA Awards $13.5 Million in Research Grants

The Muscular Dystrophy Association has awarded 44 grants totaling $13.5 million to support research efforts aimed at advancing understanding of disease processes and uncovering new strategies for treatments and cures of muscular dystrophy and the more than 40 other diseases in the Association’s program.

The new grants were reviewed by MDA’s Scientific and Medical Advisory Committees, and approved by MDA’s Board of Directors at its December meeting.

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