Fight rare but chronic myasthenia gravis
It is disturbing to have myasthenia gravis still causing devastating effects to human health. This is a rare chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy the communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weak skeletal muscles.
It affects more than 700,000 people. Data from National Organization for Rare Diseases and also Myasthenia Gravis Society of Kenya show its devastation.
Experts say women are more vulnerable to it compared to men but it occurs across racial, ethnic and age groups. But it’s more frequently seen in young women aged 20-30 and men 50 and older, according to the National Organization for Rare Diseases.
Medical experts on the disease at the Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, in the UK, say the disease develops later in life, when antibodies attack normal receptors on muscle this attack blocks the chemical needed to stimulate muscle contraction. Infants born to a woman with myasthenia gravis can develop the disorder in 48 hours.
Common signs include drooping eyelids, difficulty in walking, chewing and swallowing, severe fatigue and double vision.
If not well controlled and managed, the disease creates negative effects to victims—ranging from developing chronic fatigue to difficulty in breathing and high mortality and morbidity rate.
The condition is neither inherited nor contagious and has no cure so far, according to Myasthenia Gravis Society of Kenya and National Organization for Rare Diseases, but there is hope since scientists are looking for one.
The disease can be managed through approved medication—such as Azoran, calcium supplement, Prednisone and Mestinon. One may opt for surgery, called thymectomy, which involves the removal of the thymus gland.
It is time the world spread awareness of the condition and found a lasting solution to it. I urge governments, medical organizations, scientists, World Health Organization and other stakeholders to fast-track a cure.
The state should make free access to medication for this worrying condition. The medication and surgery that patients need to undergo are expensive; hence, not every person can afford it.
Patients are advised to go for regular check-ups so that any arising symptoms can be absolutely corrected. The public should also be sensitised so that whoever has suspected signs of the condition can be treated early for easier management.
We cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and Kenya Vision 2030 if we don’t fight this menace. Kenya, and the world, has the potential to fight the condition as long as all what is supposed to be done is acted upon. Let’s join hands and step up the war on myasthenia gravis. BY DAILY NATION
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