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To test the theory that antibodies clog up muscle receptors, serum from an MG patient was injected into mice and also into healthy human muscle, which promptly produced MG-like symptoms. This is as far as the conventional medical understanding of MG goes. The cause of the main event, the blocking of the muscle receptors by antibodies, is not known. There is no curative medical treatment available and there is also no attempt to overcome this disorder with nutritional therapy. However, there are indications that nutrition and chemicals are involved

During World War II, MG was attributed to malnutrition developed in prisoners of war in Singapore. A high-vitamin, nutritious diet with plenty of yeast and liver soon restored these patients to normal (Denny-Brown 1947). Other MG cases have also been reported with more or less permanent remissions as long as a highly nutritious diet was used. One patient reportedly lost all symptoms of MG when she took vitamins in large doses (McGraw et al. 1975). There are various statements on the Internet to the effect that raw-food diets lead to gradual improvement with MG and may be curative after 6 to 12 months

MG may manifest after exposure to crop sprays with chemicals that have an antagonistic effect on acetylcholinesterase. Another report links the development of MG to general anesthesia and hepatitis B vaccination (Biron 1998). There is also a supposedly confirmed case of MG associated with chlorine exposure

Further implicated is the enzyme poison, fluoride. Fluoridated water may trigger an MG crisis or contribute to long-term deterioration with extreme exhaustion and muscle weakness (Waldbott 1998). Problems may also arise from commercial liquids, such as soft drinks, soymilk, or reconstituted 100% fruit juices, in countries where water fluoridation is practiced.

Stress-Protective Nutrients
A wide variety of vitamins and minerals are involved in muscle activity, partly in energy production and partly in the synthesis of proteins and neurotransmitters. The main B vitamins are essential for energy production in the muscles, and some improvement in MG can be expected with B-complex supplementation so that, for instance, less of the enzyme-blocking drug may be required.

In addition to the general effect on energy production and protein synthesis, several vitamins (McGraw et al. 1980) are thought to have a specific relationship with MG.

Vitamin B1, working together with manganese, is the key vitamin for the synthesis of acetylcholine in the nerve endings. A lack of this vitamin, therefore, can cause a reduced signal from nerves to muscles and, with this, muscle weakness and other neurological complications. Vitamin B1 helps acetylcholine to bind to receptors. It also has a significant role in nerve excitation and potentiates the effects of acetylcholine. Furthermore, with low vitamin B1 levels, lactic acid accumulates in the muscles and causes fatigue; deficiency can also lead to nerve degeneration.

Vitamin in Myasthenia

Vitamin B2is important for tissue respiration, the storage of glycogen in muscles and liver, as well as for the metabolism of glycine, an amino acid linked with MG. A deficiency lowers the resistance to stress. Vitamin B6 is essential for the synthesis of neurotransmitters and receptors.

Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) supplies the acetyl part in the synthesis of acetylcholine. It opposes the effects of substances that are known to block receptors. Pantothenic acid is the anti-stress vitamin, most important for healthy adrenal glands, which are =especially weak with MG. The importance of the stress-protective vitamins can be seen in the observation that MG frequently develops during or after a period of intense stress.

Vitamin C is another anti-stress vitamin. It is essential for collagen synthesis. Collagen is the connective tissue between muscle cells, cementing them together. Vitamin C is involved with the use of glycogen in muscles, with muscle contractions and exercise tolerance. It affects muscle metabolism and the functioning of muscle membranes. Together with folic acid, it is involved with the synthesis of neurotransmitters and steroid hormones.It has a mild anticholinesterase activity and this enhances the action of the reduced amount of acetylcholine that finds a receptor.

Vitamin B12 and folic acid are required for the synthesis of choline before forming acetylcholine.

Vitamin A is needed for the immune system to produce steroid hormones and to protect the thymus and adrenal glands from the effects of stress. It can protect the thymus gland from involution during times of stress and even stimulates the thymus to regrow after premature stress-induced shrinking. In studies, vitamin A-deficient rats developed weakness of the head and leg muscles.

Vitamin E is important to protect cell membranes from damage through oxidation and peroxidation, while a deficiency causes changes in muscle protein with swelling and fragmentation of individual muscle fibers, leading to muscle weakness, dystrophy, and paralysis. Vitamin E is directly involved with the energy metabolism of muscles. A deficiency causes increased amounts of muscle protein to break down and be expelled with the urine as it happens in MG. The development and function of all endocrine glands depend on vitamin E. The pituitary gland has an exceptionally high content of vitamin E, 15 times higher than in other parts of the body, while in the adrenal glands it is almost 6 times higher.

The importance of vitamin E in MG can be seen in cases where the initial use of other vitamins improved the condition somewhat, but only after the addition of vitamin E did all symptoms of the disease disappear (Josephson 1961). Also, MG may resurface after a year or two and then vitamin E is no longer effective unless manganese is supplemented in addition.

In a study using rabbits with experimentally induced MG, more animals survived with high-dose vitamins B1, C, and E than in the unsupplemented group (Peeler et al. 1979). These same vitamins in megadoses were successfully used for MG patients as reported by Klenner (1973). However, while helpful, these vitamins alone are often not sufficient for a permanent cure.
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Vitamin in Myasthenia

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