Myasthenia gravis (my-us-THEE-nee-uh GRAY-vis) is characterized by weakness and rapid fatigue of any of the muscles under your voluntary control. It's caused by a breakdown in the normal communication between nerves and muscles.
Symptoms
Drooping of one or both eyelids (ptosis)
Double vision (diplopia)
Impair speaking
Cause difficulty swallowing
Affect chewing
Change facial expressions
Treatment
Various treatments, alone or in combination, can relieve symptoms of myasthenia gravis. Your treatment will depend on your age, how severe your disease is and how fast it's progressing.
The following therapies are usually used in the short term to treat a sudden worsening of symptoms or before surgery or other therapies.
- Plasmapheresis (plaz-muh-fuh-REE-sis).
- Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg)
- Monoclonal antibody.
