Neuromuscular junction and muscle
Matthew Tate, Johnathan Cooper-Knock, Zoe Hunter, Elizabeth Wood in Neurology and Clinical Neuroanatomy on the Move, 2015
Question 35 A 46-year-old man is admitted to the neurology unit with rapidly worsening fatigable weakness and recent onset of difficulty breathing. It is thought he is having a myaesthenic crisis, and diagnosis of myasthenia gravis is made. Which of the following is a feature of myasthenia gravis? Please choose the single best answer from the following answers: 1) Marked sensory disturbance 2) No response to administration of edrophonium 3) Presence of a thymoma 4) Presence of antibodies to voltage-gated calcium channels. 5) Weakness worse first thing in the morning Question 36 Which of the following clinical features is not seen in myasthenia gravis? Please choose the single best answer from the following alternatives: 1) Diplopia 2) Dry mouth 3) Dysphagia 4) Muscle wasting 5) Ptosis Diagnoses: EMQs Select the most likely diagnosis for each of the clinical scenarios that follow. Each answer may be used once, more than once or not at all.
Myasthenia Gravis
Charles Theisler in Adjuvant Medical Care, 2022
The term myasthenia gravis literally means “grave or serious muscle weakness.” Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disorder in which the body's own antibodies block the transmission of nerve impulses to muscles, causing varying degrees of voluntary muscle weakness and muscles that tire easily. The muscles that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expression, chewing, talking, and swallowing are most often involved in the disorder. 1 A variable combination of legs, arms, or respiratory weakness can also occur. Myasthenia gravis in 15%-20% of cases can cause respiratory failure, which can be fatal and requires immediate emergency medical care.
The Thymus and Immunotherapy, Reconstructive Vs. Stimulatory or Suppressive Conceptions
Marek P. Dabrowski, Barbara K. Dabrowska-Bernstein in Immunoregulatory Role of Thymus, 2019
Growth hormone and prolactin may synergize the endocrine function of the thymus to close the circle with the antistressor properties of thymic hormones. Documented influence of the endocrine thymus on bone marrow progenitor cells of both lymphoid and hemopoietic lineages offers a promising perspective for therapeutical use of thymic hormones in the treatment of different immune disabilities of primary or secondary nature which are known to be accompanied frequently by hematologic disorders. The stem hemopoietic cells present in the bone marrow, which are able to migrate into the thymus and to repopulate irradiated thymuses, are referred to as prothymocytes. High sensitivity of the thymus to stress may result in acute shrinkage that at post-mortem examination the organ is almost inapparent. In myasthenia gravis certain hypertrophic changes observed in the thymus do not seem to be of local origin. The morphologic abnormalities observed in myasthenic thymuses are, therefore, better defined by the term dysplasia.
Depression Misdiagnosed as Neuromuscular Disease: Case Reports and Review
Published in Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 1991
Myasthenia gravis is a serious neuromuscular disorder characterized by weakness and requiring specific pharmacological therapy. Two patients received the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis based upon complaints of weakness and neurological examination though neither responded to cholinergic medication. Anergic depression was diagnosed and successfully treated with tricyclic antidepressants, medications which would ordinarily worsen myasthenia. The diagnostic and treatment considerations in differentiating myasthenia gravis and anergic depression are reviewed.
Myasthenia Gravis and Lymphoblastic Lymphoma Antiacetylcholine Receptor Antibody as a Tumor Marker-A Case Report
Published in Cancer Investigation, 1989
Joanne E. Mortimer, Pamela Kidd
This report documents an association between lymphoblastic lymphoma and myasthenia gravis. Elevation of acetylcholine receptor antibody titer was an unusual marker for the lymphoblastic lymphoma. Following chemotherapy all symptoms of myasthenia gravis resolved and the acetylcholine receptor antibody titer normalized. The patient remains in complete remission off all therapy 20 months since the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis was made and 12 months after chemotherapy for her lymphoma.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Triggered by Adult Thymectomy in Myasthenia Gravis Patient: Report of a Case
Published in Acta Clinica Belgica, 1978
B. Kennes, G. Delespesse, J.L. Vandenbossche, J. Sternon
Summary Nine years after thymectomy, efficient on the neurologic symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis, a 29 years old female developped systemic Lupus Erythematosus. There was no exacerbation of Myasthenia Gravis and immunological investigations showed a T lymphocyte defect. This is the fourth reported case of systemic Lupus Erythematosus after adult thymectomy for Myasthenia Gravis. The influence of adult thymectomy on the immune competence is reviewed. The possible role of this operation on the appearance of the lupus syndrome is discussed.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Acetylcholine Receptor
- Antibody
- Autoimmunity
- Neuromuscular Junction
- Neurotransmitter
- Acetylcholine
- Neuromuscular Disease