Is myasthenia gravis an autoimmune disease?

Written by Liu Hong Mei
Neurology
Updated on March 13, 2025
00:00
00:00

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease that primarily affects the neuromuscular junction, leading to abnormalities in acetylcholine receptors. This can cause weakness in some or all skeletal muscles, which easily fatigues, particularly after activity or exertion, with symptoms worsening. Symptoms can be alleviated after rest or treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors. As an autoimmune disease, myasthenia gravis often co-occurs with other autoimmune disorders such as hyperthyroidism, thyroiditis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis. Symptoms of myasthenia gravis typically lessen in the morning and worsen after activity, showing a pattern of being lighter in the morning and heavier in the evening.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
55sec home-news-image

Early symptoms of myasthenia gravis

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease of the nervous system that primarily affects the acetylcholine receptors on the postsynaptic membrane, causing muscle fatigue in patients. This can lead to general weakness throughout the body, double vision, and even progressive paralysis of the respiratory muscles, requiring active breathing assistance in severe cases. The early symptoms of myasthenia gravis mainly include: First, patients tend to fatigue easily, such as after exercise or labor, with a rapid decline in physical strength that only recovers after resting. Second, there may be ptosis, with patients unable to comfortably open their eyes, although this symptom can improve after resting or sleeping. As myasthenia gravis progresses into its later stages, there is a marked increase in overall weakness, necessitating treatment in a neurology department.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
54sec home-news-image

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.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
42sec home-news-image

Early symptoms of myasthenia gravis

Myasthenia gravis is a disease of the neuromuscular junction and also an autoimmune disease, caused by a dysfunction in the patient's immune system. Early symptoms of myasthenia gravis may include mild general fatigue, which can be relieved by rest, and may not be particularly concerning to the individual. Some patients may initially exhibit slight ptosis and occasional double vision as clinical symptoms, which they might not take very seriously either. As the disease progresses, the symptoms become more severe, such as noticeable ptosis, double vision, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, and even potential weakness of the respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory failure.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
59sec home-news-image

Myasthenia Gravis should be seen by which department?

Myasthenia gravis is considered a neurological disease, so if myasthenia gravis is suspected, it is advisable to consult a neurologist. Neurologists are quite familiar with myasthenia gravis, especially those who specialize in its research. They are particularly knowledgeable about diagnosing and treating this disease. Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease of the nervous system that primarily affects the neuromuscular junction, causing muscle weakness in the body. The symptoms typically worsen towards the evening and include pathological fatigue. Muscle weakness usually improves after rest. Clinical manifestations also include ptosis, double vision, difficulty swallowing, and coughing while drinking. Neurologists may prescribe various diagnostic tests such as electromyography, chest CT scans, and tests for acetylcholine receptor antibodies.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Liu Hong Mei
Neurology
56sec home-news-image

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.