Pharmacological Therapy of Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia gravis is a disease affecting the neuromuscular junction. Still today it is not very clear whether the thymus is primary or secondary in the pathogenesis of the disease. Antibody production by autoimmune process causes a decrease in the number of functional nicotinic receptors on the postjunctional endplates. The symptoms of weakness and fatigue may affect any skeletal muscle but most commonly small muscles of the head, neck and extremities resulting in ptosis, diplopia, difficulty in speaking and swallowing, and weakness of the extremities. Cholinesterase inhibitors are extremely valuable in the therapy of myasthenia. Some patients may be efficiently treated with thymectomy or immunosuppressant therapy with corticosteroids and cyclosporine. (Katzung, 2001) Improvement of the drugs available today and even newer treatment modalities are being investigated with emerging knowledge about the disease open up for new approaches of treatment.egységes, osztatlanáltalános orvosango