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Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis

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Book cover Myasthenia Gravis and Related Disorders

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Neurology ((CCNEU))

Abstract

In 1895, Jolly used the Greek terms for “muscle” and “weakness” to form myasthenia and the Latin gravis for “severe” to describe a condition manifesting with fatiguing strength that often led to death (1,2). Treatment for myasthenia gravis (MG) began in the 1930s. Edgeworth (3,4), a physician with MG, treated herself with ephedrine and described its benefit in a placebo-controlled trial. The drug is still used and advocated by some patients, but the primary effect is as a central nervous system stimulant with only minor influences on neuromuscular transmission (5). Walker, as a house officer at St. Alfege’s in the United Kingdom, appreciated the similarity of MG to curare poisoning, which was treated with physostigmine. She administered physostigmine to a patient with MG, and prompt improvement in ptosis was seen (6,7).

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  1. Henry J. Kaminski
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  1. Departments of Neurology and Neurosciences, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Henry J. Kaminski MD

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Kaminski, H.J. (2003). Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis. In: Kaminski, H.J. (eds) Myasthenia Gravis and Related Disorders. Current Clinical Neurology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-341-5_9

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