Can myasthenia gravis be cured?

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1. Learn about myasthenia gravis

Myasthenia gravis is a disease that occurs due to a loss of communication between nerves and muscles, leading to decreased muscle tone. The disease can occur at any age, usually late when the patient has complications of breathing difficulty, respiratory failure, so it is easy to die.
The characteristic sign of myasthenia gravis is muscle weakness. The patient may have weakness of one or all of the muscles in the body. The first manifestation of the disease is usually in the eye muscles, chewing muscles, facial muscles and neck muscles. When the disease progresses to the end stage, all the muscles in the body become weak and weak. Typical symptoms of the disease are drooping eyelids, difficulty in chewing and swallowing, difficulty speaking, and drooping neck. When the disease progresses to a later stage, the diaphragm, intercostal muscles, abdominal wall muscles, limb muscles, ... are gradually weakened.

2. Can myasthenia gravis be cured?

In the treatment of myasthenia gravis, doctors often combine medical and surgical treatments depending on the individual patient's condition. The treatment of the disease is mainly symptomatic treatment, alleviating symptoms and inhibiting the progression of the disease, but cannot cure the root of the disease.
Currently, the treatment of myasthenia gravis has made significant progress. A sick person can lead a life close to that of a normal healthy person, with life expectancy not much different. However, patients with myasthenia gravis will be dependent on medications for many years or for the rest of their lives, and medications can have some dangerous side effects.
Commonly used methods to treat myasthenia gravis include:
Acetylcholinesterase: Effective in the initial treatment of patients with mild myasthenia gravis, newly diagnosed with myasthenia gravis; Immunosuppressive drugs: Including corticosteroids or non-steroidal drugs, used to inhibit autoimmune activity at the neuromuscular synaptic cleft. However, corticosteroids, if used for a long time, will cause many dangerous side effects; Thymus surgery: Up to 85% of patients with myasthenia gravis have abnormal thymus problems, so surgical removal of the thymus is a widely used treatment method. This method gives relatively positive results, but it is difficult to treat postoperatively. After surgery, patients with myasthenia gravis continued to receive moderate doses of prednisolone;

Plasma filtration : Filter out anti-receptor antibodies and complement components in the plasma of patients with myasthenia gravis, helping to relieve the symptoms of myasthenia gravis; Other methods: Doctors can apply short-term treatments such as immunoglobulin infusion or plasma exchange for patients with poor performance, patients before thymus surgery. These 2 methods give good results but no lasting effect. In addition, patients with myasthenia gravis need to supplement with vitamins, calcium, and potassium and take drugs to protect the stomach to limit the side effects of corticosteroids.
When adhering to the correct treatment of myasthenia gravis with drug therapy, the initial effect can be seen after 2-4 weeks of treatment and the optimal effect after 6-12 months. With thymectomy, myasthenia gravis will improve 12-18 months after surgery.

3. Some important notes for patients with myasthenia gravis

Patients with myasthenia gravis need to have a suitable diet, activity and labor. Eat a lot of green vegetables and fruits, especially foods rich in potassium like papaya and bananas because they are good for muscle activity. At the same time, it is necessary to regularly practice sports;

When there are warning symptoms of myasthenia gravis, you should go to a specialized medical facility for accurate diagnosis, treatment and advice; All drugs to treat myasthenia gravis have side effects, so when using the drug for a long time, it is necessary to pay attention to limit the side effects of the drug; Avoid physical exertion, psychological stress, avoid infection, keep your mind at ease; Avoid using drugs that directly affect neuromuscular transmission such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, ketolide; Note that an overdose of anticholinesterase drugs such as neostigmine or pyridostigmine can worsen muscle weakness or cause cholinergic disorders with increased salivation, sweat, tears or vomiting; Do not arbitrarily stop using the drug or take other medications unless directed by your doctor. Although the treatment of myasthenia gravis is relatively complicated and requires perseverance, thanks to advances in medicine, patients can lead a near-normal life. Therefore, patients with myasthenia gravis should keep a comfortable mind, exercise moderately and strictly follow the instructions of the doctor during the treatment process.
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