What is myasthenia gravis, which develops in young women and men over 50 years of age?

Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease.which is characterized by the creation of varying degrees weakness and fatigue in the muscles.

According to the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), In Spain, approximately 15,000 people suffer from this neurological disease..

Until recently, myasthenia gravis was considered a rare disease. But experts emphasize that in Europe in recent years we have seenincreasing trend in the number of diagnosed casesespecially due to the higher incidence of people more than 50 years. And it does it is becoming an increasingly common disease.

• Actually in our country About 700 new cases are diagnosed every year. of this disease. And from these new cases 60% corresponds to people between 60 and 65 years old.

But myasthenia gravis can affect people of all ages.

• When women the disease is usually appear very early, between the ages of 20 and 40.or at an older age from 60 to 80 years.
• V Men However, more often they do this from the sixth decade life.

In that International Myasthenia Gravis Day We asked an expert about the symptoms and treatments for this disease, which in 10-15% of cases begins in childhood and adolescence.

And although previously caused high morbidity and mortalitythanks to available treatments There are many patients who can control their disease and its symptoms.

Symptoms of myasthenia gravis

The most common symptoms are:

• weakness and fatigue muscles.
• drooping eyelids.
• double vision or diplopia.

The peculiarity of this pathology, as explained Dr. Alejandro Jorga Hernandez, Coordinator of the Neuromuscular Diseases Group of the Spanish Society of Neurology. following:

• “Muscle weakness and fatigue caused by this disease usually worsens with activity and improves with rest. symptoms appear in one muscle group first“

Ptosis of the eyelids

It’s very common that The first signs of this disease are registered in the eyes, causing ptosis or drooping of the eyelids..

• “In 50-70% of cases, it usually debuts in the eye muscles.causing drooping eyelids or double vision, but can also affect other muscles of the face or neck.
• AND Over time, it may also affect the muscles of the limbs or breathing muscles.. And when the disease causes severe weakness of the respiratory muscles, that’s when patients’ life prognosis is most at risk,” says Dr. Horga.

How does the disease develop?

During the course of the disease, patients often experience exacerbation of symptoms. And this could just be a spontaneous problem or caused by some triggering factor.

Among these factors, SEN experts highlight:

• Infections.
• Periods of increased stress.
• In women, pregnancy or the menstrual cycle may increase symptoms.
• Certain drugs.

As Dr. Alejandro Jorga explains

• “Long-term natural course myasthenia gravis is highly variable, and although most patients develop progression of clinical symptoms over the first two to three yearsAcceptable long-term disease control is usually achieved with available treatments.
• This means that there are currently many people who manage to arrest their progression or are even virtually asymptomatic. However, this still does not happen in all cases.”

8.5% of patients do not respond to treatment

But some patients diagnosed with myasthenia gravis cannot control the symptoms of the disease.

• “In those patients who suffer Refractory myasthenia gravis, also called drug-resistant.Despite treatment, they will not be able to improve and will suffer frequent relapses and important functional consequences. For this reason, it is extremely important to continue research into developing new treatments.”

According to a study that collected data from 15 Spanish hospitals included in the Spanish Registry of Neuromuscular Diseases CIBERER (NMD-ES), 8.5% of Spanish patients with myasthenia gravis are drug resistant..

This is resistance to treatment. higher in women and young patients.

SEN insists that we remember that increased delay in diagnosis of myasthenia gravis In Spain, the disease occurs in cases of early or late onset, so it is not recommended to underestimate the relative low incidence of this disease in certain age groups or attribute the first symptoms to aging or other diseases.