Myasthenia Gravis Case Study

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1) How might these Symptoms have manifested?
The symptoms the male student is experiencing may have been caused by a flaw in the transmission of nerve impulses to muscles. Normally, when impulses travel down a nerve, the nerve endings receive a neurotransmitter substance called Acetylcholine. Acetylcholine travels from the neuromuscular junction and binds to acetylcholine receptors. Acetylcholine receptors are then activated and generate a muscle contraction. Normal communication between the nerve and muscle may have been interrupted at the neuromuscular junction, which is the place where nerve cells connect with the muscles they control. Antibodies may have blocked, altered, or destroyed the acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction.
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Myasthenia gravis causes weakness in your voluntary skeletal muscles. Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease, so the body's immune system makes antibodies that block and/or change nerve signals to muscles. Muscle weakness tends to increase during periods of activity and improve after periods of rest. Some people with Myasthenia gravis go into remission, they experience little or no symptoms. Some individuals with myasthenia gravis develop thymomas (tumors of the thymus gland.) Symptoms of this neuromuscular disease vary in severity, and may start asymmetrically on the body, but will eventually experience symptoms. The symptoms of Myasthenia gravis may include ptosis (a drooping of the eyelids), diplopia (blurred or double vision due to weakness of the muscles that control eye movements), unstable walk, a change in facial expression, dry mouth, difficulty in swallowing, shortness of breath, dysarthria (impaired speech), sensitivity to loud noises, and weakness in the arms, hands, fingers, legs, and neck. Most people with this neuromuscular disease have a normal life expectancy and may be healthy otherwise, which would explain why the male student was healthy otherwise. The flu and fevers can worsen the symptoms of Myasthenia gravis. Olfactory nerves and gustatory abilities can also be affected which would explain why the male student experienced a lack of taste sensation.

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