Fighting gMG Every Day

Patients with gMG can suffer from slurred speech, choking, impaired swallowing, double or blurred vision, disabling fatigue, immobility requiring assistance, shortness of breath, and episodes of respiratory failure. Complications, exacerbations, and myasthenic crises can require hospital and intensive care unit admissions with prolonged stays and can be life-threatening.^2,3,5 While most gMG symptoms can be managed with existing MG therapies, 10% to 15% of patients fail to respond adequately to or cannot tolerate multiple therapies for MG and continue to suffer profound muscle weakness and severe disease symptoms that limit function.^6-8

In patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody-positive MG, the body’s own immune system turns on itself to produce antibodies against AChR, a receptor that plays an important role in the communication between nerves and muscles.^2,3 The binding of these antibodies to AChR activates the complement cascade, another part of the immune system, which leads to localized destruction of the neuromuscular junction.^9-11

Symptoms of gMG^5-8

• Drooping of one or both eyelids
• Blurred or double vision
• Slurred speech
• Difficulty swallowing or choking
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness in the arms, hands, fingers, legs, and neck