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Ocular Myasthenia Gravis A Patient's Guide - Brigham and Women's ...

Ocular Myasthenia Gravis A Patient's Guide - Brigham and Women's ...

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Sashank Prasad, MD<br />

Harvard Medical School<br />

The brain finely<br />

controls the eye muscles<br />

in order to keep the eyes<br />

aligned properly. Weakness<br />

of the eye muscles<br />

leads to misalignment of<br />

the eyes, which causes<br />

the eyes to perceive the<br />

same object in two<br />

<strong>Brigham</strong> <strong>and</strong> Women’s Hospital<br />

Division of Neuro-Ophthalmology<br />

Why does ocular<br />

myasthenia gravis typically<br />

cause double vision?<br />

different locations.<br />

Double vision is a<br />

common symptom of<br />

myasthenia gravis because<br />

this condition very<br />

frequently affects the<br />

strength of the eye<br />

muscles.<br />

Symptoms<br />

Patients with ocular<br />

myasthenia gravis<br />

develop double vision<br />

because weakened eye<br />

muscles cause the<br />

eyes to become<br />

misaligned<br />

Although a minority of<br />

patients with ocular<br />

myasthenia gravis<br />

never develop weakness<br />

in other parts of<br />

the body, most<br />

patients develop<br />

generalized<br />

myasthenia gravis<br />

within a few years<br />

How often does<br />

myasthenia gravis only<br />

affect the eyes?<br />

For about one half of<br />

patients with myasthenia<br />

gravis, the first symptoms<br />

are visual. About 15% of<br />

these patients will remain<br />

only having visual<br />

symptoms, even years<br />

after their diagnosis. In<br />

the other 85% of<br />

patients, however, symptoms<br />

of weakness will<br />

develop in another part of<br />

the body, usually within<br />

the next three years. At<br />

that time, these patients<br />

are considered to have<br />

generalized myasthenia<br />

gravis.

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