Definition of "myasthenia gravis" []

• A disease characterized by progressive fatigue and generalized weakness of the skeletal muscles, especially those of the face, neck, arms, and legs, caused by impaired transmission of nerve impulses following an autoimmune attack on acetylcholine receptors. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Although she is carefully monitored, there is little the medical establishment can offer Kathleen for her lupus and myasthenia gravis other than steroids, a healthy diet, and boatloads of rest—especially since no new U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved drugs have been developed for lupus in more than forty years."