RECENT ADVANCES IN MYASTHENIA-GRAVIS

Myasthenia gravis is a remitting and relapsing neuromuscular disease of man characterized by muscle fatiguability which increases with exertion and improves with rest. Although the etiology and pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis are incompletely understood, extensive studies in humans and animals of the acetylcholine receptor and the immune system have clarified many features of this disorder. Physiological studies of skeletal muscle have localized the functional defect in the neuromuscular junction. The functional defect is localized in the postsynaptic surface of the neuromuscular junction and alterations in the morphology of the neuromuscular junction and in the density of the acetylcholine receptor may be brought about by humoral and possibly cell-mediated immune factors which result in the impairment of neuromuscular transmission. Treatment of the disease is also discussed.