Quote:
Originally Posted by Brennan068
Mestinon does not provide what our body destroys. It delays the acetocholene mop up at the neuro-muscular junction. Prednisone and other steroids are taken because they supress the immune system - this reduces the amount of damage done at the neuro-muscular junction. IVIG and Plasmapheresis are ways to reduce the bad anti-bodies in your system.
This site should give you a good high-level start on what's going on:
http://www.medicinenet.com/myastheni...is/article.htm
The sample pdf from the book you, me an myasthenia gravis has a great explanation of what it is:
http://www.youmeandmg.com/YouMeAndMG-Chapter-1.pdf
Cheers,
Brian |
Our body actually destroys the junction that connects the nerve to the muscle. Sorry if I get too technical, but the neuron releases neurotransmitters which cause an electrical reaction in the muscle when they reach a certain level (action potential). Our body is missing the junction where these neurotransmitters would latch on and the body mops the excess up pretty quickly. As Brennan said, the Mestinon inhibits the chemical that mops up the excess transmitter. This leaves extra transmitter to connect to the few junctions we have left.