Normal Neoromuscular Junction (left) vs Myasthenia Gravis (right)
Myasthenia Gravis is another autoimmune disease that acupuncture may treat. The incidence of the disease is quite small effecting about one in seven thousand people. From a western medical scientific perspective, there is no cure and the treatment usually involves steroids that have a short limited effect. There is also a drug pyridostigmine which increases acetylcholine and azathioprine which suppresses the immune system. Desperate patients may resort to plasmapherasis that may help for up to six weeks and costs tens of thousands of dollars.
It is not known why the body attacks its own acetylcholine receptors or why the body goes into remissions or relapses. Nearly 50% of people could go into respiratory failure.
Does Myasthenia Gravis fall into any Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnostic patterns?
Flaws and Sionneau in their book The Treatment of Modern Medical Diseases with Chinese Medicine state that Myasthenia Gravis is included in the category of Wilting Syndrome. This syndrome involves the limbs becoming weak and fatigued. The other symptoms associated with Myasthenia Gravis, drooping eyelids and double vision come under Chinese disease categorizations of shi yin wei er and shang bao xia chui.
What else does western medicine have to help?
Doctors may recommend physiotherapy and isotonic exercises, psychological intervention, vocational counselling or occupational therapy.
When did Chinese physicians first use acupuncture for the treatment of weakening of muscles?
Dr Dharmananda of Oregon in his paper on autoimmune diseases reveals that the ancient Chinese medicine classic, the Nei Jing, refers to the treatment of symptoms such as weak muscles and joint pains. The Nei Jing is still used in modern times as a text book for acupuncturists and dates back to 300 b.c.e.
Are there any traditional main organ systems that are treated to address symptoms such as drooping eyelids and weak muscles?
The spleen and kidneys may be used in instances like this. Traditional Chinese medicine says that the Spleen controls the flesh , (ie muscles) and that the Spleen controls the eyelids. Acupuncturists could use acupuncture points on the legs, stomach or arms to address these symptoms. The function of the kidney energy in Chinese medicine terms is often compared to the strength of the immune system.
There are many acupuncture texts, both classical and modern that have reference to acupuncture points that treat eye diseases such as drooping eyes, dry eyes, and twitching eyes. Some acupuncturists and Chinese herbalists have specialised in eye diseases including Naomi Jansson on Australia’s Gold Coast in Queensland.
