Poster Session I

Project Type

Poster

Project Funding and Affiliations

Undergraduate Thesis and DHC Capstone

Faculty Mentor’s Full Name

Katie Holick

Faculty Mentor’s Department

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Abstract / Artist's Statement

I will be studying myasthenia gravis (MG) and its relation to stress, answering the question: Is there a correlation between highly stressful life events and the initial onset of myasthenia gravis by which acute emotional or physical stress triggers myasthenic crisis or exacerbation of symptoms? I am doing this project because my mother has MG and her diagnosis has shaped my outlook on the medical field in which I hope to enter. To carry out this project, I will be using cross-sectional analysis through stress assessment with MG disease severity assessment. This will include trier inventory for assessment of chronic stress and the perceived stress scale. For MG disease severity, I will use the MG-ADL test and the MGII test. These tests will assess the impact of MG to daily functions and is used widely by physicians to score a patient's MG severity.  My project is currently still in progress; however, I predict that MG and stress have a relation. This project is significant to my field of study as knowing the relationship that stress has to myasthenia gravis can give information that can be applied to other autoimmune diseases, all of which will be valuable for my future in the medical field.

Category

Humanities

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Apr 17th, 10:45 AM Apr 17th, 11:45 AM

Stress as a Potential triegger: Investigating the Onset of Myasthenia Gravis Following Major Life Events

UC South Ballroom

I will be studying myasthenia gravis (MG) and its relation to stress, answering the question: Is there a correlation between highly stressful life events and the initial onset of myasthenia gravis by which acute emotional or physical stress triggers myasthenic crisis or exacerbation of symptoms? I am doing this project because my mother has MG and her diagnosis has shaped my outlook on the medical field in which I hope to enter. To carry out this project, I will be using cross-sectional analysis through stress assessment with MG disease severity assessment. This will include trier inventory for assessment of chronic stress and the perceived stress scale. For MG disease severity, I will use the MG-ADL test and the MGII test. These tests will assess the impact of MG to daily functions and is used widely by physicians to score a patient's MG severity.  My project is currently still in progress; however, I predict that MG and stress have a relation. This project is significant to my field of study as knowing the relationship that stress has to myasthenia gravis can give information that can be applied to other autoimmune diseases, all of which will be valuable for my future in the medical field.