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Autoimmune disease
Thesis statement of myasthenia gravis diagnosis and treatment
Thesis statement of myasthenia gravis diagnosis and treatment
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Introduction
Myasthenia Gravis is a chronic autoimmune disorder that weakens the muscles. The name MG comes from the Latin words meaning grave muscle weakness. In 1672, Thomas Willis was the first to describe a patient with myasthenia gravis. There were periodic case descriptions over the years in 1900 regarding this disease. The disease remained a mystery, until 1960 when Simpson suggested that myasthenia gravis was caused by antibodies against the acetylcholine (ACh) receptor. Patrick and Lindstorm both proved that myasthenia gravis is autoimmune in origin by testing rabbits that were immunized with Torpedo ACh receptors became myasthenic. Today, myasthenia gravis is one the most thoroughly understood neurological disorders. This has lead to an overall understanding of the disease such as the cause associated, risk factors, complications, incidences, organ systems affected, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and treatments, which enormously improve the length and quality of life for these individuals.
Homeostatic Imbalance
This chronic autoimmune disease is characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the skeletal muscles. The weakness increases during periods of activity and improves after rest. Normally the muscles that control the eye and eyelid movement, facial expressions, chewing, talking, and, swallowing are affected first.
Causes
Myasthenia gravis is a disorder of neuromuscular transmission. In order to understand what causes myasthenia gravis, we must first describe what creates normal neuromuscular transmission. Neuromuscular transmission is where the nerve cells connect with the muscles. In a healthy individual there is an impulse from the nerve to the nerve endings releasing a neurotransmitter, ACh. This neurotran...
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..., exposure to any kind of infection such as colds and influenza should be avoided.
Cure
There is no cure for myasthenia gravis, but treatment can help relieve signs and symptoms. There are many studies being conducted with myasthenia patients with different drugs, either alone or in combination with existing drug therapies, to see if they are effective. Other studies include the long-term benefit of thymectomy over medical therapy alone for patients that do not have tumors.
Prognosis
The patients’ symptoms and signs usually stabilize or improve after three years. The prognosis of myasthenia gravis has improved drastically with the introduction of treatments with the majority of patients becoming symptom free if they are adequately treated. However, most patients do have to remain on tablets for life as the symptoms generally return if they stop the medication
Flaccid dysarthria results from damage to the lower motor neurons (LMN) or the peripheral nervous system (Hageman, 1997). The characteristics of flaccid dysarthria generally reflect damage to cranial nerves with motor speech functions (e.g., cranial nerves IX, X, XI and XII) (Seikel, King & Drumright, 2010). Lower motor neurons connect the central nervous system to the muscle fibers; from the brainstem to the cranial nerves with motor function, or from the anterior horns of grey matter to the spinal nerves (Murdoch, 1998). If there are lesions to spinal nerves and the cranial nerves with motor speech functions, it is indicative of a lower motor neuron lesion and flaccid dysarthria. Damage to lower motor neurons that supply the speech muscles is also known as bulbar palsy (Pena-Brooks & Hedge, 2007). Potential etiologies of flaccid dysarthria include spinal cord injury, cerebrovascular accidents, tumors or traumatic brain injury (Pena-Brooks & Hedge, 2007). Possible congenital etiologies of flaccid dysarthria include Moebius syndrome and cerebral palsy. Flaccid dysarthria can also arise from infections such as polio, herpes zoster, and secondary infections to AIDS (Pena-Brooks & Hedge, 2007). Additionally, demyelinating diseases such as Guilian-Barre syndrome and myotonic muscular dystrophy can also lead to flaccid dysarthria (Pena-Brookes & Hedge, 2007). The lower motor neuron lesion results in loss of voluntary muscle control, and an inability to maintain muscle tone. Fasciculations, or twitching movements, may occur if the cell body is involved in the lesion (Seikel et. al., 2010). The primary speech characteristics of flaccid dysarthria include imprecise consonant production, hypernasal resonance, breathiness, and harsh voice (...
Although people should have the freedom to choose to be vaccinated, the public needs to be educated about the personal, economical, and social benefits of receiving the influenza vaccine. In addition, people who are at a high risk of contracting influenza as well as health care providers should be encouraged to receive an influenza vaccine in order to decrease the major health burden associated with the disease. Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a viral infection of the respiratory system and it is characterized by abrupt onset of fever, sore throat, and nonproductive cough. Influenza is spread from person to person by inhalation of the droplets produced when a person infected with influenza coughs or sneezes. In addition, it can also be spread by contact with infected objects such as utensils.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a fairly common disease identified as episodes of inflammation and damage to joints, tendons, and various organs. The most effected organs are the heart, lungs, brain, kidneys, blood vessels, and skin. Lupus affects each individual differently and the effects could be mild to severe depending on the individual. SLE is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks the healthy cells and tissues in the body (Ohio State, 2009).
This disease can be crippling, practically turning patients who have it into “Statues” some patients are able to pick which position their limb will be froze in, but others can not because it can happen over night. Swelling under the the jaw can occur also affecting the patient's breathing and ability to eat, this can be fatal but Glucocorticoids can help reduce the
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a degenerative disease affecting the human nervous system. It is a deadly disease that cripples and kills its victims due to a breakdown in the body’s motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells in the brainstem and spinal cord that control muscle contractions. In ALS, these neurons deteriorate to a point that all movement, including breathing, halts. Muscle weakness first develops in the muscles of body parts distant from the brain, such as the hands, and subsequently spreads through other muscle groups closer to the brain. Such early symptoms as this, however, can hardly be noticed.
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown cause that can affect virtually any part of the body. The medical term for Lupus is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or better known as SLE. With Lupus there is a malfunction in some of the cells of the immune system. "In Lupus, the body overreacts to an unknown stimulus and makes to many antibodies, or proteins directed against body tissue. Thus, Lupus is called an autoimmune disease. ”#
Myasthenia gravis is a chronic auto-immune neuromuscular disease, which causes weakness in the skeletal muscles. These muscles are responsible for breathing and moving certain parts of the body. The number one sign of myasthenia gravis is muscle weakness that worsens after periods of activity and improves after periods of rest. The eyes are usually affected first with this disease. MG tends to attack muscle groups used for voluntary movement, meaning they are muscles that you have control of. Certain muscles such as those that control facial expression, chewing, talking, and swallowing are often involved with this disease. Because weakness is a common symptom of many other disorders, the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis is often missed or delayed
This condition is usually passed down through families (inherited). CMT is caused by defects (mutations) in the genes that affect the peripheral nerves. Over time, these mutations cause the nerves to break down. The nerves lose
Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder affected the neuromuscular junction and the process of neuromuscular transmission. MG is a disease that reflects an autoimmune response against acetylcholine (ACh) receptors at the postsynaptic membrane at the motor endplate (Duffy, 99). Because there are a reduced number of operative receptors, the muscle responsiveness to the Ach that sparks muscle contraction is reduced. The repercussion for this is diminishing muscle contractions with repetition of use. With rest and time for nerves to reload the Ach supply, strength of the muscles may improve.
When a person begins to suffer from Guillain- Barre Syndrome their myelin sheath of their nervous system is being attacked and destroyed by the immune system (NINDS, 2011). The myelin sheath begins to lose its ability to transmit signals rapidly and affectively. Since signals are not getting transmitted to the brain fast enough, a person begins to notice fewer sensory responses from the rest of the body (NINDS, 2011). A person wouldn’t be able to tell right away or at all if an item they are touching is hot, cold, or causing pain. There also wouldn’t be good signal transmission from the brain to the rest of the body (NINDS, 2011). There would be signs of the muscles being unable to respond to the weakened or distraught signals they were receiving. Since the myelin sheath is responsible for transmitting the signals from a long distance, the upper and lower extremities would be the first to show signs of muscle dysfunction.
While Guillain-Barre etiology is rather unknown, scientist are looking for answers on why and how Guillain-Barre occurs as well as focusing on finding new treatments and further developing the existing treatments. “The fact that so many cases of Guillain-Barre begin after a viral or bacterial infection suggests that certain characteristics of some viruses and bacteria may activate the immune system inappropriately.” (NINDS). Proper treatment is done so by plasmapheresis, or intravenous immunoglobulin, and after symptoms begin to subside, medical and physical therapy interventions have shown to greatly aid in recovery, and with proper supportive care, typically in about a year, patients will be able to return to a normal
Mao, Z.-F., Mo, X., Qin, C., Lai, Y.-R., & Olde Hartman, T. C. (2010). Course and prognosis of myasthenia gravis: a systematic review. European Journal of Neurology : The Official Journal of the European Federation of Neurological Societies, 17(7), 913–21. doi:10.1111/j.1468-1331.2010.03017.x
It all depends on an individual's symptoms and the length and duration of relapses (attacks) and remission (period where the disease exhibits no
There is no specific medication to treat the rotavirus infection, but there are many remedies to treat the symptoms. One of the best ways to treat dehydration (the main concern of rotavirus) is to drink fluids. I believe that this virus is scary because it mainly effects young children under the age of 5, and while there are vaccines to prevent this virus, children can still be infected if they are exposed.
The exact cause of myasthenia gravis is still not completely proven; however, there have been many correlations linked between certain autoantibodies as well as thymus abnormalities in 80-90 percent of people affected by the disease (Bird, 2016). Normal function of a muscle at the neuromuscular junction involves a neurotransmitter called Acetylcholine and its receptor. When an action potential is sent from the neuron and arrives at the axon terminal,