MS vs MG

[StephC]

Does anyone have MS and MG?

Does MS respond to mestinon?

[4-eyes]

I have a friend with both. No, MS does not improve with mestinon.

Have you learned something new about your diagnosis? Feel free to ask questions.

[southblues]

I have a biologist friend that has MS. I asked her about mestinon and she said that it is not used. It seems logical that it would help; however, she said that people with MS tend to have severe muscle spasms and that it would probably make them worse. She is a biologist, but not specifically an expert in this field.

[BackwardPawn]

Originally Posted by StephC

Does anyone have MS and MG?

Does MS respond to mestinon?

MS is caused by demyelenation of the nerve. The myelen sheath is what allows the electrical signal to flow along the neuron, while the neuron itself releases the neurotransmitter which tells the next neuron to either fire or shut down.

MG, on the other hand is caused by a lack of receptors to the neurotransmitter where the nerve and muscle meet.

The reason Mestinon won't help MS is that the electrical signal telling the nerve to release acetylcholine never reaches the nerve ending...lacking that signal, it just does whatever it wants to, ie. releasing neurotransmitters that either cause muscle spasms, or just shut down the muscle. But they have the receptors, just not the signal. Adding extra acetylcholine wouldn't help in this case.