NeuroNote #4: Myasthenia Gravis

For this Neuro Note I decide to watch the YouTube video, “Sheryl and Myasthenia Gravis: How I Cope!”. I chose this topic because I have heard the name, but I did not know what exactly this diagnosis meant. According to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder that is characterized by fluctuating weakness of the voluntary muscle groups. Sheryl in her video explains that this affects the eyes, mouth, arms, legs, fingers and neck. This can get worse and eventually affect your swallowing or breathing. In Myasthenia Gravis, antibodies block the receptors for acetylcholine at the nerve muscle connection keeping the muscle from working properly. In the US, 20 in 100,000 have MG and is very under-diagnosed. Currently, there is no cure but there are effective treatments to manage a life with MG.

Sheryl is a 17-year-old living with Myasthenia Gravis and she was diagnosed at 16. Her symptoms started with weakness in the legs, arms and hands, and her eyes started dropping. These symptoms started as mild, but they quickly got worse. She decided she needed to go to the doctor when she was at school and the muscles in her mouth were not working correctly. She couldn’t eat/drink or chew/swallow. The doctors were confused at first, but when her eyes started hurting more, she went to an eye specialist who suspected MG. The doctor did a test which was placing ice on the eye and if it was MG, the eyelid with go back up. Sure enough it did and Sheryl was diagnosed with MG.

When symptoms get worse you usually have to go to the hospital and get IVIG (intravenous immune globulin), which is a sterile solution of concentrated antibodies extracted from health donors. This is inserted into a vein to treat immune system disorders or to boost immune response to serious illness. This doesn’t last very long, so a lot of doctors recommend plasmapheresis, which is when blood is separated into cells and plasma and then abnormal antibodies are removed from the bloodstream. In Sheryl’s case, this is the option that works best for her.

For Sheryl, MG has affected her life a lot. It makes her unable to do some of the things that she used to be able to do. However, she is learning how to adapt to the weakness and low endurance and figuring out how to shorten her bouts of exercise or activities. For example, because of her diagnosis, Sheryl had to quit softball as it was way too taxing on her body. She has now adapted and goes to the batting cages sometimes with a lot of breaks. She wasn’t able to go to school for the first 3 months after her diagnosis. She slowly worked up to be able to go back to school and started back on a new routine, which helped her cope and feel like a normal kid again. She has realized that she has to explain what MG is a lot to people is, because it is noticeable to other people.

I am very glad I watched this video about Myasthenia Gravis. It was interesting to learn more on the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America website. I recommend going to the website and learn more about this disorder and how to live a life with MG.

References

Carter, Bryan. (2014, October 23). Sheryl and Myasthenia Gravis: How I Cope!. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZU2nTf6_cc

MG Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved August 08, 2020, from https://myasthenia.org/What-is-MG/MG-Facts