Myasthenia Gravis: MedlinePlus

Myasthenia Gravis: MedlinePlus

Myasthenia gravis is disease that causes weakness in the muscles under your control. It happens because of a problem in communication between your nerves and muscles. Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease. Your body's own immune system makes antibodies that block or change some of the nerve signals to your muscles. This makes your muscles weaker.

Common symptoms are trouble with eye and eyelid movement, facial expression and swallowing. But it can also affect other muscles. The weakness gets worse with activity, and better with rest..

There are medicines to help improve nerve-to-muscle messages and make muscles stronger. With treatment, the muscle weakness often gets much better. Other drugs keep your body from making so many abnormal antibodies. There are also treatments which filter abnormal antibodies from the blood or add healthy antibodies from donated blood. Sometimes surgery to take out the thymus gland helps.

For some people, myasthenia gravis can go into remission and they do not need medicines. The remission can be temporary or permanent.

If you have myasthenia gravis, it is important to follow your treatment plan. If you do, you can expect your life to be normal or close to it.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

June 18, 2014

June is Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month

June is Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month. Visit the Myasthenia gravis topic page, which includes an interactive tutorial.

• Start Here

  • Myasthenia Gravis(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
  • Also available in Spanish
  • Myasthenia Gravis(Patient Education Institute)
  • Also available in Spanish

• Overviews

  • Myasthenia Gravis(Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
  • Myasthenia Gravis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • Myasthenia Gravis(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary
  • Myasthenia Gravis, Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome & Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes(Muscular Dystrophy Association) - PDF
  • Also available in Spanish

• Diagnosis/Symptoms

  • Electromyography (EMG)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • Myasthenia Gravis: Tests and Diagnostic Methods(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America)

• Treatment

  • Thymectomy: Common Questions Patients Ask about Thymectomies(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) - PDF
  • Treatment for Myasthenia Gravis (MG)(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America)

• Nutrition

  • Nutrition and Myasthenia Gravis(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) - PDF
  • Return to top

• Coping

  • How Can I Provide Emotional Support for a Relative Who Has MG?(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) - PDF
  • Return to top

• Disease Management

  • Dental Treatment Considerations(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) - PDF
  • Emergency Management of Myasthenia Gravis(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) - PDF
  • Return to top

• Specific Conditions

  • Ocular Myasthenia Gravis(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) - PDF
  • Return to top

• Related Issues

  • Congenital Myasthenia(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) -Short Summary
  • Employees with Myasthenia Gravis(Office of Disability Employment Policy)
  • Home Injury Prevention(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) - PDF
  • Myasthenia Gravis Medication Information Card (Drugs to be Avoided or Used with Caution in Myasthenia Gravis)(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) - PDF
  • Return to top

• Tutorials

  • Myasthenia Gravis(Patient Education Institute)
  • Also available in Spanish
  • Return to top

• Clinical Trials

  • ClinicalTrials.gov: Myasthenia Gravis(National Institutes of Health)
  • Return to top

• Genetics

  • Genetics Home Reference: Myasthenia gravis(National Library of Medicine)
  • Return to top

• Journal Articles

  References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
  • Article: Minimal clinically important difference in myasthenia gravis: outcomes from a...
  • Article: Myasthenia gravis in South Trinidad.
  • Article: Protective effect of Sijunzi decoction on neuromuscular junction ultrastructure in...
  • Myasthenia Gravis -- see more articles
  • Return to top

• Directories

  • MGFA Chapters(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America)
  • Return to top

• Organizations

  • Muscular Dystrophy Association
  • Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  • Also available in Spanish
  • Return to top

• Children

  • Caring for Children and Supporting Adolescents with Myasthenia Gravis(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) - PDF
  • Return to top

• Women

  • Things to Consider If You Have MG and Are Thinking about Getting Pregnant(Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America) - PDF
  • Return to top

• Patient Handouts

  • Acetylcholine receptor antibody
  • Also available in Spanish
  • Myasthenia gravis
  • Also available in Spanish
  • Return to top

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA  

• Acetylcholine receptor antibody
• Myasthenia gravis
• Tensilon test

Related Topics

• Muscle Disorders
• Brain and Nerves

National Institutes of Health

• The primary NIH organization for research on Myasthenia Gravis is theNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke