Disorders of NMJs present with what?
Painless muscle weakness
Disease of NMJ are most often due to what?
AutoAB that inhibit AChR, which are responsible for intiating signals that cause contraction of muscle.
What toxins can cause damage to NMJ?
2 Diseases of NMJ caused by autoAb that affect AChR
When is Myasthenia Gravis most common and in whom?
Bimodal age
Myastheina Gravis is caused by what?
AutoAB against:
There is a strong association with AChR autoantibodies seen in Myathenia Gravis and which abnormalities?
Why>
Histology of thymic hyperplasia in patients with Myasthenia Gravis
Myasthenia gravis patients with AChR autoantibodies usually present with what signs/sx’s?
Fluctuating generalized weakness that worsens with exertion and over course of day
What feature of Myashtenia Gravis is not seen in any other myelopathies?
Weakness of extraocular muscles => ptsosis and diplopia
What electrophysiologic findings help distinguish Myasthenia Gravis and Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome?
- L.E.M.S = ↑↑↑ muscle response (blinking) after repeated stimulation
What is 1st line tx for Myasthenia Gravis and what other tx’s can be used to control the sx’s?
How do patients with autoAB to AChR differ from those with Ab to muscle specific tyrosine kinase in Myasthenia Gravis?
Ab to muscle specific tyrosine kinase => more focal muscle involvement(neck, shoulder, facial, respiratory and bulbar muscles)
Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome is what?
An AI disorder OR paraneoplstic syndrome caused be Ab that block ACh release by inhibiting pre-synaptic Ca2+ channel
50% of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome cases are associated with what underlying condition?
A paraneoplastic syndrome due to cancer (small-cell carcinoma of lung)
Pt’s with Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome typically present with what sx’s?
Weakness of the proximal extremities and autonomic dysfunction
Durning embryogenesis, how does skeletal muscle develop?
In adult tissue, how are skeletal muscle myofibers arranged?
Fascicles, each associated with a small pool of tissue stem cells (satellite cells), that help with muscle regeneration after injury
Types of skeletal muscle fibers and how are they arranged
Type I and type II, which are admixed in a checkerboard pattern in normal skeletal muscle
What determines whether a skeletal myofiber is type 1 or 2?
Signal from the innervating motor neuron, meaning that all muscle fibers in a motor unit are the SAME type

What causes skeletal muscle atrophy?
Type II fiber atrophy with sparing of type I fibers is seen with what?