Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic condition that causes muscles to fatigue and weaken easily. The meaning of the term Myasthenia Gravis is broken down, My means Muscle, asthenia means lack of strength and Gravis means severe. In an autoimmune disease, the immune system attacks parts of the body. The part of the body that is attacked by the circulating antibodies is the muscular system and some acetylcholine receptors present on muscle cells in the neuromuscular junctions. Disease Overview: Patients with MG have only one-third of normal values ​​of acetylcholine receptors which causes weak and easily fatigued muscles. Muscles under voluntary control are affected. The heart muscles, which are under involuntary control, are not affected. In MG typically, the muscles that control eye and eyelid movement are affected first, causing the eyelids to droop. Some patients with MG may develop double or blurred vision. When only the eye muscles are affected, the disease is known as ocular myasthenia. Symptoms of the disease that affect the facial muscles lead to limitations in facial expressions. Victims have difficulty smiling and expressing emotions on their faces. When the throat muscles are affected, this causes problems with speaking, swallowing, and chewing. Patients may choke easily and their speech is often nasal due to weakness of the velar muscles. Muscles in the arms and legs may weaken affecting activities such as lifting weights or walking, with some patients appearing to wobble. There may be a loss of balance and uncoordinated walking. It would be difficult to hold or grasp objects with weakened arm muscles. Approximately 15% of patients with MG have a thymoma. In most cases the tumor is not harmful and can be treated. Breath… middle of paper… are sent through electrodes to measure how well the nerves can send a signal to the muscle and to determine whether the signals get worse when the muscle is tired. Single fiber electromyography: Measures the electrical activity flowing between the brain and muscle. Magnetic resonance imaging: This scan may be done to identify a thymoma. Prophylaxis or treatment of the disease. First you can remove the thymus gland which oversees much of the of the immune response. Second, create intravenous antibodies to bind and inactivate those causing the damage. Third, you may want to invest in cholinesterase inhibitors to improve communication between nerves and muscles which helps the affected muscles to contract properly and maintain good strength. You could also have a plasmapheresis transfusion which quickly removes harmful antibodies from the circulation.