Symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis Obscured by Old Age and Unilateral Presentation

Abstract

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular junction disorder involving autoantibodies affecting the postsynaptic muscle membrane. We report an 81-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with three days of left facial droop, who later developed worsening bilateral ptosis, cervical weakness, dysphagia, and dysarthria following an assessment for Bell's palsy. Ultimately, he was diagnosed with MG. This patient's presentation was atypical and challenging. Specifically, the patient had droopy eyelids from a redundancy of skin and an anatomical neck droop, non-specific findings in older adults, which obscured the development of bilateral ptosis and cervical weakness, a classic sign of bulbar disease. The patient also presented with unilateral facial weakness, a rare finding in MG and concerning stroke in the elderly population. Our aim is to discuss the challenges of identifying MG in older populations and to discuss pharmacological challenges in assessing elderly patients with suspected bulbar palsies.