Myasthenia gravis should be seen in the Neurology department.

Written by Tang Li Li
Neurology
Updated on September 08, 2024
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Patients with myasthenia gravis should consult the department of neurology, as myasthenia gravis is an immune-related neuromuscular junction disorder. Patients often exhibit pathological fatigue, skeletal muscle involvement, and unaffected smooth muscles. The most common type is ocular myasthenia, followed by mild and moderate generalized forms. Adult patients often have thymomas or thymic hyperplasia. Upon diagnosis of myasthenia gravis, it is essential to perform a comprehensive thymic CT scan. If thymic abnormalities are present, referral to thoracic surgery for treatment is needed. If there is no thymic disease, high-dose steroid pulse therapy may be considered. Additionally, it is crucial to determine whether the patient has other coexisting immune abnormalities, such as hyperthyroidism or connective tissue disease, and tailor the treatment accordingly.

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Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
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Types of Myasthenia Gravis Crisis

Myasthenia gravis is a neurological disease. It is an autoimmune disorder primarily affecting the neuromuscular junction, leading to symptoms such as pathological fatigue, ptosis, and limb weakness. Myasthenia gravis is termed as such due to its severe nature, including crises that can impair respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory paralysis, respiratory failure, and potentially death. There are three main types of myasthenic crises. The first type is myasthenic crisis, primarily caused by insufficient medication; muscular injections can be used for treatment, and if effective, it indicates a myasthenic crisis. The second type is called cholinergic crisis, resulting from an overdose of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, with symptoms including muscular twitching and pupil constriction. The third type is called refractory crisis, occurring when the body is insensitive to medication treatments. All these crises pose a life-threatening risk to patients and require immediate management, including tracheal intubation and, if necessary, mechanical ventilation.

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Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
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Causes of myasthenia gravis

Myasthenia gravis is a type of neurological autoimmune disease. The cause and mechanism of this disease are primarily due to disorders in the immune function of the body. Antibodies are produced in the body which attack the acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction, leading to the failure of nerve impulses being transmitted to the muscles. This results in the clinical symptoms observed. Many patients may have thymic abnormalities, such as thymomas. Treatment of this disease involves the use of cholinesterase inhibitors and suppression of these abnormal immune responses, typically requiring the use of corticosteroids.

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Myasthenia Gravis Clinical Manifestations

Myasthenia gravis is a type of immunological disease of the nervous system that belongs to neurology. The common clinical manifestations include the following aspects. First, some patients may experience ptosis, where they cannot open their eyes. It usually starts on one side and may also involve abnormal eye movements, such as difficulty in moving the eyes to the left or right, leading to double vision and other clinical manifestations. Second, some patients may experience dysphagia, such as difficulty swallowing, choking on water, and speech articulation disorders. Third, some patients may experience weakness in their limbs, especially an inability to perform strenuous physical activities, such as climbing stairs, which can be significantly affected. These clinical manifestations usually show a pattern of being less severe in the morning and more severe in the evening.

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Can people with myasthenia gravis soak their feet?

Soaking in hot water can promote blood circulation, dilate blood vessels, improve local blood circulation in the lower limbs, promote metabolism, prevent thrombosis, and prevent muscle atrophy. In the early stages of myasthenia gravis, patients often experience limb discomfort, numbness, pain, blurred vision, and fatigue. In work and daily life, it is common to experience tiredness, memory loss, slow responses, and reluctance to be active. Soaking the feet can promote blood circulation and can improve local blood flow, which has a certain beneficial effect on myasthenia gravis. As the disease progresses, there is obvious fatigue and weakness in the skeletal muscles, especially after fatigue in the afternoon and evening, which is reduced in the morning or after rest.

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Myasthenia gravis should see which department?

Myasthenia gravis is a common disease in neurology, so when visiting the hospital, it is definitely necessary to see a neurologist. Neurologists have certain experience in diagnosing and treating this disease. This disease is classified as a neuromuscular junction disorder, mainly caused by the production of antibodies against acetylcholine receptors in the body. This leads to the nerve impulses not being effectively transmitted to the muscles, resulting in clinical manifestations. Patients' symptoms include improvement in the morning and worsening in the evening, fluctuating symptoms, and may present with drooping eyelids, double vision, general weakness, and some patients may also experience difficulty swallowing and speech disorders.