Is myasthenia gravis an autoimmune disease?

Lindsey Shapiro, PhD avatar

by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD |

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Category: Causes

In most cases, myasthenia gravis is caused by the immune system’s production of self-reactive antibodies that disrupt nerve-muscle communication, and thus it is considered an autoimmune disease. In rare cases, individuals may have genetic mutations that affect nerve-muscle communication, which is sometimes considered a heritable form of myasthenia gravis that is not autoimmune in nature.