Question

What is myasthenia gravis?

Answer 1

Myasthenia gravis :

1. It is an autoimmune disease, that occurs in every 1 in 20,000 persons, causing muscle weakness.
2. This muscle weakness is because of the inability of the neuromuscular junctions to transmit enough signals from nerve fibers to the muscle fibers.
3. In this condition, antibodies attack the acetylcholine receptor in the body and can be seen in the blood.
4. This causes a decrease in the number of Ach receptors causing muscle weakness.
5. Drugs like neostigmine can help with the symptoms as it can accumulate acetylcholine in the synapses by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase.