MYASTHENIA EDUCATION
There have been truly great
advances in treatment. In the early days, people died from the disease
because when the lungs would become involved, the patient would go
into crisis. Since it’s considered an autoimmune disease, surgery is
sometimes done today to remove the thymus gland. The thymus, located
behind the breastbone, produces antibodies, but in this case it has—in
layman’s terms—run amuck. One theory is that the thymus may produce
receptor antibodies that can attack a person’s own body and actually
lead to myasthenia gravis.
Likewise, an exchange of the body’s plasma can reduce the
number of wayward antibodies as well as other measures including the
use of medications which are being used today to suppress this
autoimmune reaction. The specific cause of MG remains unknown, but our
research continues.
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