Alyssa Eighbren S.

Deyto

Human beings are made up of many body systems. One of them is responsible for

protecting the body from foreign substances, or antigens, and is our first line of defense. This

system is called the Immune System. Although this system is our first line of defense, it may also

cause harm to our body. Usually, the immune system can tell the difference between foreign

cells and our own cells. But in some cases, they could not recognize our own cells or other body

parts and mistakes it as foreign. This is what happens in an Autoimmune Disease.

Autoimmune Disease is a condition where in our immune system mistakenly attacks our

body. It releases proteins called autoantibodies and these proteins attack healthy cells. In Type 1

diabetes, they attack only one organ, the pancreas. While in Lupus, they attack the whole body.

There are many types of autoimmune diseases since they attack our body differently. And what

we will be looking into is the Myasthenia Gravis.

Myasthenia Gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease that causes weakness

in the skeletal muscles. It is identified by the weakness and fatigue of the muscles under our

control and is caused by interruption in communication between our nerves and muscles or the

neuromuscular junction. The name Myasthenia Gravis camefrom the latin and greek words

meaning, grave muscle weakness. This is because it causes muscle weakness that worsens while

being more physically active and improves when resting. Some muscles like those in our faces

that control our facial expression, talking, and even swallowing are almost always involved in

this disorder.

The cause of MG is still unclear. Some doctors and researchers believe that viruses or

bacteria might trigger this autoimmune response and that, potentially, the thymus gland also
seemed to be one of its causes. Although MG is not hereditary, transfer through genetics still

appears to play a role in it and other autoimmune diseases. There is no known cure for MG, but

with current therapies most cases of myasthenia gravis are not as grave as it supposed to be.