Open AccessJuvenile myasthenia
Author(s) -
Marija Knežević-Pogančev
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
medicinski pregled
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1820-7383
pISSN - 0025-8105
DOI - 10.2298/mpns1106295k
Subject(s) - medicine , myasthenia gravis , weakness , juvenile , neuromuscular transmission , muscle weakness , ptosis , repetitive nerve stimulation , anesthesia , surgery , genetics , biology
Juvenile myasthenia is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of fluctuating, painless muscle weakness and rapid fatigue of any muscles under voluntary control. Juvenile myasthenia is a form of myasthenia appearing in adolescent age, representing 10% to 15% of all cases of myasthenia gravis. Juvenile myasthenia is presented by a defect in the transmission of nerve impulses to muscles, resulting from a breakdown in the normal communication between nerves and muscles. In myasthenia, antibodies produced by the body's own immune system block, alter, or destroy the receptors for acetylcholine. Juvenile myasthenia is neither directly inherited nor is it contagious.