Dr. Anuj Chandra and several of his colleagues, including Saira Naseer, MD, Victor O. Kolade, MD, FACP, Sarim Idrees, MD and Sidra Naseer, BBA, have described the first case of Ocular Myasthenia which improved with use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. An article about their observation has been accepted for publication in the July 2012 issue of Tennessee Medicine, the journal of the Tennessee Medical Association.
Myasthenia Gravis is a condition in which an autoimmune reaction disrupts the body's normal communication between nerves and muscles, resulting in muscle weakness and even paralysis.
Eye muscles are often affected along with other muscles. The eyes may be the only muscles affected, which is a condition called Ocular Myasthenia.
Dr. Chandra and his colleagues at the Advanced Center for Sleep Disorders treated a 73-year-old man with a history of Ocular Myasthenia who was also diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. After 12 weeks of treatment with CPAP, the patient's apnea responded well and he had no more symptoms of Ocular Myasthenia.
"To our knowledge, this is the first published report of Ocular Myasthenia responding to CPAP treatment," said Dr. Chandra. "Based on this observation, it is important for doctors treating patients with Ocular Myasthenia to obtain a sleep history and screen for sleep-disordered breathing."
Although this is only one report, Dr. Chandra and his colleagues believe their experience with this patient shows the need for comprehensive studies of the relationship between Ocular Myasthenia and sleep-disordered breathing.
"We know that sleep-disordered breathing lowers the saturation of oxygen in the person's blood, which likely contributes to the nerve-muscle communication problems with Myasthenia Gravis and Ocular Myasthenia," said Dr. Chandra. "For someone with Ocular Myasthenia and Sleep Apnea, early intervention with the sleep disorder is likely to alleviate ocular myasthenia symptoms and improve quality of life."