Needed: Research Dollars for Muscle-Wasting Disease

But myasthenia gravis is rare, so funding is limited, doctors say.

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
Sunday, August 5, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

SUNDAY, Aug. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Myasthenia gravis is chronic weakness -- literally, "grave muscle weakness," according to the term's Greek and Latin roots.

Your eyes droop and can't focus. Walking up stairs or lifting a heavy object become impossible tasks. In worst cases, patients have difficulty breathing or swallowing.

The more you do, the less you can do. The more you exercise, the weaker you get.

No one's sure what causes myasthenia gravis. Worse, there's no solid research that indicates any particular correct way to treat a person with the disease.

"There's a lot of art in the treatment of myasthenia gravis and not a lot of data," said Dr. Michael Benatar, assistant professor of neurology for Emory University, who recently wrote a paper for the American Academy of Neurology reviewing potential therapies for the disease.

Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which the body's own defenses turn on the muscles.

The hallmark of the disease is muscle weakness that increases during periods of activity and improves after periods of rest. The muscles most often involved include those that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expression, chewing, talking, and swallowing, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Symptoms can include drooping of one or both eyelids and blurred or double vision due to weakness of eye movement muscles -- conditions called ocular myasthenia. Chronic myasthenia can also cause unstable or waddling gait, a change in facial expression, impaired speech and weakness in the arms, hands, fingers, legs, and neck.

"When it affects the swallowing and the breathing muscles, it can be a life-threatening disease if not treated," said Dr. Matthew Meriggioli, an associate professor in the department of neurology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

A myasthenic crisis occurs when the muscles that control breathing weaken to the point that the patient can't draw in enough oxygen, creating a medical emergency and requiring a respirator for assisted ventilation, according to the National Institutes of Health. The crises happen in patients whose respiratory muscles are weak, and it can be triggered by infection, fever, or a bad reaction to medication.