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Myasthenia Gravis (MG) Samples for Research

bio March 17, 2021

Bay Biosciences provides high quality, clinical grade fresh frozen bio-specimens, cryogenically preserved sera (serum), plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) biofluid samples from patients diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis (MG) disease.

Moreover, the serum, plasma and PBMCs are processed from patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.

Furthermore, the samples are collected from unique patients diagnosed with myasthenia gravis and are provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, diagnostics, discovery and drug development.

In addition, detailed clinical annotations associated with myasthenia gravis specimens is provided to a valued customer for research, development and drug discovery.

Myasthenia Gravis (MG) Overview

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles, which are the muscles the body uses for movement. Specifically, it occurs when communication between nerve cells and muscles becomes impaired. As a result, this impairment prevents crucial muscle contractions from occurring, resulting in muscle weakness.

According to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation Of America, approximately 36,000 to 60,000 cases  of myasthenia gravis are estimated in the United States. Nevertheless, as myasthenia gravis often remains underdiagnosed, the prevalence of myasthenia gravis disease is most likely higher.

Furthermore, myasthenia gravis is a rare long-term condition that causes muscle weakness. In particular, it most commonly affects the muscles that control the eyes and eyelids, facial expressions, chewing, swallowing, and speaking.

However, it can affect most parts of the body. Myasthenia gravis (MG) disease can occur regardless of race, gender, and age. Notably, myasthenia gravis typically starts in women under 40 and men over 60.

Moreover, myasthenia gravis disease is not thought to be directly inherited nor contagious, but may occur in more than one member of the same family. In addition, no one transmits it via intimate or any form of human contact.

Furthermore, there is no known cure for myasthenia gravis, but there are many effective treatments available that can make managing life with myasthenia gravis easier.

Signs and Symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis (MG)

Major symptom of myasthenia gravis (MG) disease is weakness in the voluntary skeletal muscles, which are muscles under your control. The failure of muscles to contract normally occurs because they can’t respond to nerve impulses. Without proper transmission of the impulse, the communication between nerve and muscle blocks and weakness arises.

Weakness associated with myasthenia gravis (MG) disease typically gets worse with more activity and improves with rest.

Following are the common signs and symptoms of myasthenia gravis (MG) disease:

  • First, difficulty speaking
  • Second, difficulty walking up stairs or lifting objects
  • Thirdly, facial paralysis
  • Moreover, trouble breathing due to muscle weakness
  • Furthermore, problems with swallowing or chewing
  • In addition, fatigue
  • Likewise, hoarseness in voice
  • Drooping of eyelids
  • Double vision

Causes of Myasthenia Gravis (MG)

Myasthenia gravis disease is an autoimmune disease, which means it’s the result of the immune system (the body’s natural defense against infection) mistakenly attacking a healthy part of the body.  In an autoimmune condition, antibodies, which are proteins that normally attack foreign, harmful substances in the body, attack the neuromuscular junction. Damage to the neuromuscular membrane reduces the effect of the neurotransmitter substance acetylcholine, which is a crucial substance for communication between nerve cells and muscles. This results in muscle weakness.

Myasthenia gravis is caused by a problem with the signals sent between the nerves and the muscles. In myasthenia gravis, the immune system damages the communication system between the nerves and muscles, making the muscles weak and easily tired.

It’s not clear why this happens, but researchers have linked it to issues with the thymus gland (a gland in the chest that’s part of the immune system).

Most patients with myasthenia gravis disease have a thymus gland that’s larger than normal. Around one in ten people have an abnormal growth of the thymus called a thymoma.

Diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis (MG)

Myasthenia gravis patients need to go through complete physical exam, as well as a detailed history of the symptoms are discussed with the physician.  Patients also go through a neurological exam to confirm the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis and rule out other similar conditions. This may consist of:

  • Firstly, checking for muscle tone
  • Secondly, looking for muscle weakness 
  • Thirdly, checking the reflexes
  • Moreover, making sure that the eyes move properly
  • Furthermore, sensation test in different areas of the body
  • Lastly, testing motor functions, like touching your finger to your nose

Other tests that can help the doctor diagnose myasthenia gravis disease include:

  • Blood tests for antibodies associated with MG
  • Repetitive nerve stimulation test
  • Edrophonium (Tensilon) test
  • MRI and CT scans to rule out a tumor.

Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis (MG)

The main goal of myasthenia gravis (MG) treatment is to manage the symptoms and control the activity of the immune system, since there is no cure for myasthenia gravis disease.

Medications

Corticosteroids and immunosuppressants are used to suppress the immune system. These medications help minimize the abnormal immune response that occurs in myasthenia gravis (MG) disease. Additionally, cholinesterase inhibitors, such as pyridostigmine (Mestinon), can be used to increase communication between nerves and muscles.

Thymus gland removal

Removal of the thymus gland, which is part of the immune system, may be appropriate for many myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. After the thymus gland is removed, myasthenia gravis (MG) patients typically show less muscle weakness.

According to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, between ten to fifteen percent of myasthenia gravis (MG) patients will have a tumor in their thymus. Tumors, even those that are benign, are always removed because they may become cancerous.

Plasma exchange

Plasma exchange is also known as plasmapheresis. This process removes harmful antibodies from the blood, which may result in an improvement in muscle strength. Plasmapheresis is a short-term treatment. The body continues to produce the harmful antibodies and weakness may recur. Plasma exchange is helpful before surgery or during times of extreme myasthenia gravis (MG) weakness.

Intravenous immune globulin

Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) is blood product that comes from donors. It’s used to treat autoimmune myasthenia gravis (MG) disease. Although it’s not entirely known how IVIG works, it affects the creation and function of antibodies.

Lifestyle changes

There are some things you can do at home to help alleviate symptoms of myasthenia gravis (MG):

  • Get plenty of rest to help minimize muscle weakness.
  • If you’re bothered by double vision, talk to your doctor about whether you should wear an eye patch.
  • Avoid stress and heat exposure, as both can worsen the symptoms.

These treatments cannot cure myasthenia gravis (MG) disease. However, you’ll typically see improvements in your symptoms. Some individuals may go into remission, during which treatment is not necessary.

Myasthenic Crisis

Some patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) have periods where their symptoms get suddenly worse, for example, they may experience severe breathing or swallowing problems. These potentially life-threatening symptoms, known as a myasthenic crisis, which requires urgent treatment in a hospital.

Treatment for myasthenic crisis may include the following:

  • Oxygen through a face mask
  • Using a breathing machine (ventilator)
  • Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy, which is a treatment made from donated blood, which improves muscle strength by temporarily changing how your immune system works
  • Plasmapheresis, where your blood is circulated through a machine that filters out the harmful antibodies that are attacking the communication system between the nerves and muscles.

Biospecimens

biospecimens

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Moreover, human biospecimens are available including tumor tissue, serum, plasma and PBMC samples from most other therapeutic areas.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and likewise normal healthy donors for controls. Additionally, available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

Also, all our human tissue collections, human biospecimens and human biofluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Additionally, researchers find the patient’s data associated with the human biospecimens extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, as well as in other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) and human biofluids from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Bay Biosciences also provides human biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.

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