Myasthenia gravis overview
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Myasthenia gravis (literally "serious muscle-weakness"; from Greek μύς "muscle", Template:Polytonic "weakness", and Latin gravis "serious"; abbreviated MG) is a neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability. It is an autoimmune disorder, in which weakness is caused by circulating antibodies that block acetylcholine receptors at the post-synaptic neuromuscular junction,[1] inhibiting the stimulative effect of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Myasthenia is treated medically with cholinesterase inhibitors or immunosuppressants and in selected cases with thymectomy. At 200-400 cases per million it is one of the less common autoimmune disorders.[1]