Lisp, Difficult Swallowing and Muscles Weak Because Miastenia Gravis

Talk began to lisp, difficulty swallowing, shortness of breath and the body feels very weak. Initially only traits, diseases miastenia gravis (Myasthenia Gravis / MG) is so tortured. It takes incredible patience to face this autoimmune disease.

MG patients are rarely detected quickly. Doctors sometimes diagnose all sorts began to shortness of breath, tonsil until TBC which makes it very difficult to breathe.

Miastenia gravis is one of the autoimmune disorders that disrupt the nervous system connection (synaps).

Miastenia gravis patients, immune cells or antibodies will attack the body's nerve connections that contain acetylcholine (ACH), which is a neurotransmitter which deliver stimuli from one nerve to another nerve.

If the receptor susceptible to interference it will cause a deficiency, so that communication between nerve cells and muscles and cause muscle weakness disturbed.

Many mentioned that this autoimmune disorder dominant attacking women, but this is not shared by specialists in the RSCM panyakit.

"There is no definitive evidence that the gender factor miastenia gravis big influence," says Dr. Dante Saksono, SpPD, PhD.

According to Dr. Dante, was at age under 40 years more women than men suffer from miastenia gravis. But for patients over the age of 50-70 years, the percentage of women and men are equal. This disease has attacked the 20-40 of 100 thousand population.

Cause

The exact cause autoimmune reactions or cell antibodies that attack acetylcholine receptors are unknown. But in most patients, the thymus gland damage is the cause.

Thus most of the patients will undergo surgery thymus. But after the thymus was also removed there is no guarantee of this autoimmune disease will be cured.

Thymus is a special organ in the immune system produces antibodies. This organ continues to grow at the moment of birth until puberty, and will disappear with age.

But in certain people, thymus gland continues to grow and expand, even could become malignant and cause tumors in the thymus gland (thymoma).

In the thymus gland, certain cells in the immune system learn to distinguish between the body and foreign substances. Thymus gland also contains muscle cells (myocytes) with acetylcholine receptors.

For an unknown reason, the thymus gland can be ordered immune system cells to produce antibodies that attack the acetylcholine.

Besides damage to the thymus gland, Dr. Dante also add other factors which may cause miastenia gravis, a disease of lupus antibodies or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (arthritis), thyroid disorders, as well as diabetes type I.

But according to Dr. Dante, the greatest risk factor is genetic. Could be due to genetic heredity (derivatives) or even a mutation of the gene carried by yourself.

Neonatal myasthenia (miastenia innate or derived) occurred in 12 percent of babies born to women who experience miastenia gravis.

Antibodies against acetylcholine, which circulate in the blood, can be passed from pregnant women continue to the placenta into the fetus. In some cases, infants experience muscle weakness is missing a few days to several weeks after birth.

Dr. Dante said, looking at miastenia symptoms can be mild or severe gravis.

Miastenia gravis symptoms in pasein productive age, among others:

1. Eyelids next fall or wither (asymmetric ptosis)
2. Double vision
3. Muscle weakness in the fingers, hands and feet (such as symptoms of a stroke but is not accompanied by other symptoms of a stroke)
4. Swallowing disorders
5. Speech disturbance
6. And severe symptoms such as respiratory muscle weakness (respiratory paralysis), which usually attacks the newborn

Mild symptoms will usually improve after a rest, but it can reappear when the muscles back to their activities.

Miastenia gravis disease be cured depending on the damage suffered by the nervous system. Medications are wont to do, namely:

1. Giving medicines that can suppress autoimmune reactions or antibodies that attack the acetylcholine
2. Dialysis or hemodialysis, by filtering out the antibodies and make it no longer active
3. In patients with thymoma, the tumor on the thymus gland to have surgery

For diagnosis, patients with the above symptoms should immediately consult a doctor to perform a physical examination and additional examinations, such as examination of antibody and Electromyography (EMG).

The disease is difficult to heal, the patient is very dependent on drugs such as mestinon. But the disease can not in remission or relapse time. Avoid stress and fatigue is highly recommended that this disease was not easy to relapse.