title: Effects of napping on neuromuscular fatigue in myasthenia gravis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The relationship between sleep and neuromuscular fatigue is understood poorly. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of napping on quantitative measures of neuromuscular fatigue in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight patients with mild to moderate MG were recruited. Patients underwent maintenance of wakefulness tests (MWT) and multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT). The Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis Score (QMGS) was measured before nap and after each nap to examine the effects of napping and sleep on neuromuscular weakness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results showed that QMGS improves only after naps where patients slept more than 5 min but not where patients did not sleep or slept less than 5 min.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Daytime napping mitigates neuromuscular fatigue in patients with MG, especially if patients slept for more than 5 min.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Charles D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Kassardjian
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Seint
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kokokyi
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jewell
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bril
authors.forename: Hans D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Katzberg
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018763:Muscle Fatigue / Q000502:physiology*; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017286:Polysomnography / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology
keywords: fatigue; myasthenia gravis; napping; neuromuscular junction; postsynaptic; sleep; sleepiness