Definition:
Neonatal myasthenia is a postsynaptic neuromuscular transmission defect that arises as a complication in the infants of mothers with myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that affects the transmission of signals from nerves to muscles.
Diagnosis:
A history of myasthenia gravis in the mother during pregnancy as well as the symptomatology in the newborn infant can lead to a suspicion of neonatal myasthenia. The diagnosis can be confirmed through maternal electromyography.
Treatment:
Neonatal myasthenia can be treated with medications or blood transfusions to remove the antibodies that cause myasthenia symptoms.
Symptoms and Signs:
Infants born with neonatal myasthenia usually have a feeble cry, poor sucking function, as well as experience respiratory distress or “floppiness”. In most cases, the symptoms of neonatal myasthenia disappear spontaneously in the first few months of life.
Causes:
Neonatal myasthenia occurs in infants born to mothers who have active (or, in some cases, in remission) acquired myasthenia gravis. The mother produces antibodies against the disease that are passed passively through the placenta to the infant, thus leading to neonatal myasthenia.
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