The IAA One Minute Blog

Myasthenia gravis is characterized by weakness and rapid fatigue of any of the muscles under your voluntary control. Take the time to learn more about this little known disease in support of Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month.

What is Myasthenia Gravis?

Myasthenia gravis is considered to be an autoimmune disorder. In an autoimmune disease, some of the body’s antibodies (special proteins in your body that are supposed to be programmed to fight foreign invaders such as bacteria, virus or fungi) mistake part of your own body as foreign, resulting in its destruction.

Muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis worsens as the affected muscle is used. Symptoms tend to progress over time, usually reaching their worst within a few years after the onset of the disease.

Although myasthenia gravis can affect any of the muscles that you control voluntarily, certain muscle groups are more commonly affected than others:

• Eye muscles: In more than half the people who develop myasthenia gravis, their first signs of any symptoms involve eye problems such as eye drooping and double vision.

• Face and throat muscles: In about 15 percent of people with myasthenia gravis, the first symptoms involve face and throat muscles which can:

o   Affect chewing: The muscles used for chewing might wear out halfway through a meal.

o   Cause difficulty swallowing: You might choke easily.

o   Impair speaking: Your speech may sound soft or nasal, depending on which muscles have been affected.

• Neck and limb muscles: Myasthenia gravis can also cause weakness in your neck, arms and legs.

Though this disease can affect people of any age, it’s more common in women younger than 40 and in men older than 60.

What are the Causes of Myasthenia Gravis?

Myasthenia gravis is caused by the breakdown in the normal communication between nerves and muscles. This breakdown can be caused by:

1. Antibodies: Your nerves communicate with your muscles by releasing chemicals that fit precisely into receptor sites on the muscle’s cells at the nerve-muscular junction. In myasthenia gravis, your immune system produces antibodies that block or destroy many of your muscle’s receptor sites for a chemical acetylcholine. With fewer receptor sites, your muscles receive fewer nerve signals.
2. Thymus gland: The thymus gland is a part of your immune system, situated in the upper chest beneath your breastbone.  Researchers believe the thymus gland maintains the production of antibodies that block acetylcholine. Large in infancy, the thymus gland is small in healthy adults. In some adults with myasthenia gravis, this gland is abnormally large.
3. Other causes: Some people have myasthenia gravis that isn’t caused by antibodies blocking acetylcholine. This type of myasthenia gravis is called antibody-negative myasthenia gravis.   Antibodies against another protein called lipoprotein-related protein 4 can play a part in the development of this condition.

In rare cases, mothers with myasthenia gravis have children who are born with the condition.

What IAA has to Say

Insurance Administrator of America wants you to take the time this month to help make others aware of myasthenia gravis. By sending this blog post on to friends and colleagues, you can help support Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month.Remember, with IAA one call does it all.

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