How is myasthenia gravis treated?
Myasthenia is rarely cured, but the symptoms can be improved with a number of different medical or surgical interventions. The main goal of treatment from a biochemical perspective is to increase the amount of acetylcholine available to the receptors on the nerve endings in the muscle. This can be done either by increasing the amount of the acetylcholine itself by minimizing its breakdown, or by destroying the antibodies that are attacking the acetylcholine receptors. Mestinon, or pyridostigmine, is a cholinesterase inhibitor which blocks the breakdown of acetylcholine. This is a commonly used medication to treat the symptoms of myasthenia, but is has been demonstrated that this medication is more effective at alleviating the non-ocular symptoms than the ocular ones. Immunosuppressive agents such as prednisone can be effective at blocking the immune response involved in myasthenia. Plasmapheresis is a procedure whereby the offending antibodies are removed directly from the bloodstream.
