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Author Topic: Myasthenia Gravis  (Read 8911 times)
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« on: December 22, 2007, 02:44:17 pm »

Study shows how to prevent muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis

Dec 21,2007- Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have found that severe muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis, a debilitating autoimmune disorder, can be stopped or reversed by blocking a key step in the immune response that triggers the disease.

Myasthenia gravis occurs when the immune system produces antibodies that attack and harm cetylcholine receptors, which are mechanisms that play a crucial role in transmitting the electrical impulses that lead muscles to move and contract.

The immune response at the heart of this process is called a complement cascade a complex chain of chemical reactions in which proteins bind together to attack a cell by punching a hole in it. When acetylcholine receptors are damaged in this way, muscle movement is rigorously impaired.

In the current study, scientists used an animal model and found that they could prevent muscle weakness, or restore muscle strength, caused by myasthenia gravis by stopping the complement cascade at a step called C5 before the series of chemical reactions had finished.

They did this by administering an anti-C5 agent, which targets one of the proteins involved in the cascade and thus stops the process.

Henry J. Kaminski, M.D., professor and chairman of the department of neurology and psychiatry at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, one of the studys authors, said the findings are promising enough that human clinical trials involving the anti-C5 agent called eculizumab are likely within a year.

He added that the findings could lead to treatments for related autoimmune disorders such as arthritis, lupus.

We believe this therapeutic approach has strong potential for improving the lives of patients with myasthenia gravis. And if it proves successful there, it could also one day help us find new therapies for other auto-immune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, he said.

Myasthenia gravis affects approximately 400 per 1 million people. The severe muscle weakness caused by the disease brings a host of other complications, including difficulty breathing, difficulty chewing and swallowing, slurred speech, droopy eyelids and blurred or double vision.

By preventing or reversing the muscle weakness, the other symptoms are prevented or reversed as well, the researchers said.
The findings are published in a recent edition of the Journal of Immunology. (ANI)
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« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2009, 11:01:18 pm »

"Myasthenia" (MY-uh-STHEE-knee-uh) literally means "muscle weakness." Muscles move only when they get a signal from nerves. The signal is a chemical messenger with the name acetylcholine.
The chemical has to swim across a small gap between nerve and muscle, and then land on what's called a receptor, a landing dock.
In myasthenia, the landing dock is cluttered with antibodies, and the acetylcholine cannot land. The muscle doesn't contract.

Antibodies come from the immune system, so myasthenia is an autoimmune disease, one in which a person's immune system turns against its own body. In this case, it turns against muscle receptors, with muscle weakness as the result.

Symptoms depend on which muscles are affected. When it's eye muscles, double vision results, because the eyes cannot stay in alignment. Eyelids often droop. Speech can become unintelligible, and swallowing difficult. Arms can't do what they used to do. These weakness spells fluctuate, and the symptoms disappear for a time, only to come back.
With the passage of time and without treatment, symptoms worsen and become more persistent.

Myasthenia doesn't have a cure medicine.
Contact the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America at 800-541-5454 for current information, treatment and direction to local chapters of the foundation.
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« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2009, 02:29:52 am »

Support group for patients with myasthenia gravis


The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation will host a support group for patients with the disease - which leads to muscle weakness - and their families from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15. The event will be held at the Brook Park branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library, 6155 Engle Road.

Call Gloria Mondok, 440-835-1521; or Sandy Gardina, 216-433-0535 for more information.
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« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2009, 01:08:23 pm »

Ann-Margret to be honored at Steve Chase Awards


September 25, 2009

Ann-Margret, one of the major stars of film and musical theater, will receive the Arts and Activism Award at the 2010 Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards Gala Feb. 27 at the Palm Springs Convention Center, it was announced today.

The black tie awards gala, presented by Integrated Wealth Management, is one of the two largest charity fundraisers of the social season, along with the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala.

Ann-Margret was discovered by George Burns and made her film debut playing Bette Davis’s daughter in “A Pocketful of Miracles.” Her featured role in “Bye-Bye Birdie” has recently been incorporated into the plot line of the Emmy Award-winning series, “Mad Men.” She also co-starred opposite Elvis Presley in “Viva Las Vegas” and was romantically linked to the rock icon who was considered her “mirror image.”

Ann-Margret won five Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for two Academy Awards for her portrayal of Bobby Templeton in “Carnal Knowledge” and Nora Walker in the rock film, “Tommy.”

She has garnered six Emmy nominations for her work in a variety of TV specials and movies, and was voted Song and Dance Star of the Year by the American Guild of Variety Artists. She was nominated for a Grammy for her CD, “God is Love: The Gospel Sessions.”

She’s especially remembered for her dramatic performance in the TV movie “Our Sons,” playing a mother who realizes her rage and rejection toward her son has been a waste now that he lies dying of AIDS.

Ann-Margret has long lent her talents to charitable causes, including for those with HIV/AIDS. She is the national chairperson for the Myasthenia Gravis Division of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and was a national spokesperson for “What 60 Looks Like Now,” a campaign to educate women about osteoporosis.

To purchase tickets for the Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards, call (760) 323-2118, ext. 266 or visit www.desertaidsproject.org. All net proceeds from the gala will benefit Desert AIDS Project, the organization supporting people living with HIV and AIDS.

Other Steve Chase Award winners, presenters, entertainers and hosts will be announced in the coming months.



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« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2009, 04:09:42 am »

Myasthenia Gravis Association offers an online support group at www.mdjunction.com/myasthenia-gravis.
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I look normal, as I have an "Invisible Illness". You can not catch it, you can not see it. It's called Lupus.My body is attacking itself on the inside.
www.LupusMCTD.com Represents:
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2) Where HOPE is a WORK In Progress
3) Pay It Forward~Giving Back To The Future Lupus/MCTD Patients
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