According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary: Myasthenia gravis is " a disorder of neuromuscular transmission marked by fluctuating weakness and fatigue of certain voluntary muscles, including those innervated by brainstem motor nuclei; caused by a marked reduction in the number of acetylcholine receptors in the postsynaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction, resulting from an autoimmune mechanism."(8) Myasthenia gravis comes from the Greek and Latin words meaning "grave muscular weakness."(1) Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscle of the body. This muscle weakness usually occurs during periods of activity and improves after periods of rest. Certain muscles such as the ones controlling eye movement, chewing, talking, swallowing, facial expression are often involved in this disease. Besides, Myasthenia gravis may also affects the muscles that control neck and limb movement and breathing. This disease is not fatal or contagious and also does not affect life expectancy(1,2). Myasthenia gravis affects both genders and can occur at any ages(1). However, it most commonly affects women under the age of 40 and men over the age of 60(2,8). It is also not an inherited disease and will not be transmitted from one to another. Normally, nerve system and muscles work together to carry out body movement. There are two types of muscles which are involuntary muscles and voluntary muscles. For example, muscles found in intestines, blood vessels are involuntary muscles. They will work on their own without receiving signal from the brain. Those muscles which work after receiving the signals from the brain are voluntary muscles. Brain transmits nerves impulses to the muscles via nervous system. ... ... middle of paper ... .... 4. Hughes BW1, Moro De Casillas ML, Kaminski HJ.. Pathophysiology of myasthenia gravis. Semin Neurol 2004 ; 24(1): 21-30. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15229789 (accessed 25 March 2014). 5. Muscular Dystrophy Association. What causes myasthenia gravis (MG)?. http://mda.org/disease/myasthenia-gravis/causes-inheritance (accessed 22 March 2014). 6. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. What Is Myasthenia Gravis?.(2013) [accessed 23 March 2014]. 7. Mayo Clinic. Myasthenia gravis.(2013) [accessed 23 March 2014]. 8. Christian Nordqvist . What Is Myasthenia Gravis? What Causes Myasthenia Gravis?', Neurology / Neuroscience News. 22 February 2010 : .
"Learning About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy." Learning About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. National Human Genome Research Institute, 18 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 May 2014.
This report will explore the structure and function of skeletal muscle within the human body. There are three muscle classifications: smooth (looks smooth), cardiac (looks striated) and skeletal (looks striated). Smooth muscle is found within blood vessels, the gut and the intestines; it assists the movement of substances by contracting and relaxing, this is an involuntary effort. The heart is composed of cardiac muscle, which contracts rhythmically nonstop for the entire duration of a person’s life and again is an involuntary movement of the body. The main focus of this report is on skeletal muscle and the movement produced which is inflicted by conscious thought unless there is a potentially harmful stimulus and then reaction is due to reflex, as the body naturally wants to protect itself. Skeletal muscle is found attached to bones and when they contract and relax they produce movement, there is a specific process that the muscle fibers go through to allow this to occur.
Psychguide (2016). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Symptoms, Causes and Effects. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from http://psychguides.com
Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder. The term "myasthenia" is Latin for muscle weakness, and "gravis" for grave or serious. It is characterized by random weakness of voluntary muscle groups. Muscle groups most commonly affected include the eye muscles, facial, chewing and swallowing muscles, and shoulder and hip muscles. It is typical for a myasthenic patient to have a flattened smile, droopy eyes and an ineffective cough due to weak expiratory muscles, are all also associated with MG. Most myasthenic patients usually don't complain of extensive feelings of fatigue. They experience localized fatigue in specific, repeatedly used muscles. Today, MG is one of the most thoroughly understood neurological disorders, which has lead to treatments, which enormously improves the length and quality of life of myasthenics.
Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a genetic disorder that weakens skeletal muscles, the muscles that enable the human body to move. People with muscular dystrophy have missing or incorrect information in their genes, which prevents them from making the proteins they need for healthy muscles. Due to fact that muscular dystrophy is genetic, it is not contagious or contractible from another person; a person must be born with the problem.
Myotonic dystrophy, type 1, is a genetic disorder which is linked to chromosome number 19 in humans. The dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene is located on the q arm of the chromosome at the locus of 13.32. It is an autosomal dominant disorder, which means that the individuals that are affected by this disorder and contain at least one dominant allele for the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene. The disorder is caused by a series of repeats of a trinucleotide region that is expanded beyond the normal levels (Musova et al., 2009). The trinucleotide region is a series of repeats of CTG in the untranslated region of the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene. The severity of the disorder is associated with the number of repeats the individual has within the gene. Normal individuals tend to have between 5 and 37 repeats while an individual with a very mild myotonic dystrophy may have 50 to 150 repeats, and if the disorder is discovered at the time of birth the individual will have over 2,000 repeats of the trinucleotide region (Musova et al., 2009). Myotonic dystrophy, type 1, affects multiple organ systems of the body and is relatively slow to progress. Myotonic dystrophy, type 1, is categorized by alterations of the beating pattern of the heart, faulty dystrophin proteins, clouding of the lens of the eye, decreased functionality of the gonads, balding, and myotonia (Musova et al., 2009). Myotonia is described as the slow relaxation of any muscle type, which will cause the individual to use extended effort to simply relax the muscles after they have been contracted. Muscular dystrophy causes an individual to experience muscular deg...
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome where a person has long-term, body pain and tenderness in their joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissue.This is a disorder that can also causes muscle pain and fatigue. Those with fibromyalgia have "tender points" in the body. Tender points are places on the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms, and legs. These points will start to hurt when pressure is applied to them.No one knows the exact causes of fibromyalgia , and anyone can get it, but it is most common in middle-aged women. Although people with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases are especially likely to develop fibromyalgia. There is also no exact cure for fibromyalgia, but medicine will help manage the symptoms. Also things that can help manage the pain are getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating well .
What is Myotonic Dystrophy?. Genetics Home Reference. November 2006. US National Library of Medicine. February 9, 2009. < http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=myotonicdystrophy>.
What Is Polio? What Causes Polio?. (n.d.). Medical News Today. Retrieved October 23, 2013, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/
Nordqvist, C. (2009, March 19). What is Dementia? What Causes Dementia? Symptoms of Dementia. Medical News Today. Retrieved June 16, 2010, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/142214.php
The muscular system helps the body with movement. Throughout the entire body, there are 600 skeletal muscles. In a way, the skeletal system and the muscular system work together; the nervous system tells the muscles to contract and the muscles move. Some of the functions of the muscular system are to move the body, support and protect the organs throughout the body.
Nordqvist, Christian. What Is Gangrene? What Causes Gangrene? 24 July 2009. 10 November 2013 .
When a message comes to the brain from body parts such as the hand, the brain dictates the body on how to respond such as instructing muscles in the hand to pull away from a hot stove. The nerves in one’s skin send a message of pain to the brain. In response, the brain sends a message back dictating the muscles in one’s hand to pull away from the source of pain. Sensory neurons are nerve cells that carry signals from outside of the body to the central nervous system. Neurons form nerve fibers that transmit impulses throughout the body. Neurons consists of three basic parts: the cell body, axon, and dendrites. The axon carries the nerve impulse along the cell. Sensory and motor neurons are insulated by a layer of myelin sheath, the myelin helps
Martin, B. (2007). Causes of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD). Psych Central. Retrieved on December 3, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/causes-of-attention-deficit-disorder-adhd/0001202
Serono, M. (2010, September 24). How does the Central Nervous System (CNS) Work?. Retrieved from http://www.epgpatientdirect.org/multiple-sclerosis/how-does-the-central-nervous-system-cns-work.cfm