Question Title: tests used

Forum: Neurology Forum
Topic: Myasthenia Gravis

but he never checks my muscles after repeted motions and keeps thinking i must be ok because i have fairly good strenght. -- i have a local eye doctor that had no trouble with thinking this could be mg, having followed me for years with the double vision & blurring vision troubles.

i'm in therapy as well, very hard to accept that i can't do the thing i need to and have no ability to do what i love [the cramps and pain take over and must rest.] therapist thinks this could be physical, not emotional also.

are there still conditions that would be physical in nature and can't be diagnosed because there are no test?
[my mother has torticollis, but i'm doing well on mestinon and show no real signs of dystonia]

Dear L. Brown:

Bromocryptine does not affect the result of the Acetylcholine Receptor antibody test, and should not cause a false positive result. The AChR antibody test may achieve a 80-90 percent sensitivity for the diagnosis of generalized MG. The sensitivity is of the range of 50 percent in ocular MG. A negative AChR Ab test does not rule out the diagnosis of MG, but certainly makes it less likely. Repetitive nerve stmulation studies are relatively less sensitive. One of the most sensitive tests for MG is the single fiber EMG test (SFEMG), which has a sensitivity above 90 percent even with ocular MG. A negative antibody test (both binding and blocking types) and a negative SFEMG, in the presence of generalized fatigue or other muscular symptoms, virtually rules out the diagnosis of MG.

There are some neurological conditions that are diagnosed solely on the basis of a clinical examination. Parkinson's disease is an oustanding example.

The SFEMG is usually offered at EMG labs of major academic institutions.

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