Mental disorders (or mental illnesses) are conditions that affect your thinking, feeling, mood, and behavior. They may happen over a short period of time or come and go. Some can be chronic (long-lasting). They can affect your ability to relate to others and function each day..

There are many different types of mental disorders. Some common ones include:

• Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias
• Depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders
• Eating disorders
• Personality disorders
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia

There is no single cause for mental illness. A number of factors can contribute to risk for mental illness, such as:

• Your genes and family history
• Your life experiences, such as stress or a history of abuse, especially if they happen in childhood
• Biological factors such as chemical imbalances in the brain
• A traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Prenatal (before birth) exposure to viruses, toxic chemicals, or other substances such as alcohol and drugs.
• Use of alcohol or recreational drugs
• Having a serious medical condition like cancer
• Having few friends, and feeling lonely or isolated

Mental disorders are not caused by character flaws. They have nothing to do with being lazy or weak.

Mental disorders are common. Many Americans will be diagnosed with a mental disorder at some time in their life.

The steps to getting a diagnosis include:

• A medical history
• A physical exam and possibly lab tests, if your provider thinks that other medical conditions could be causing your symptoms
• A psychological evaluation. You will answer questions about your thinking, feelings, and behaviors.

Treatment depends on which mental disorder you have and how serious it is. You and your provider will work on a treatment plan just for you. It usually involves some type of therapy. You may also take medicines. Some people also need social support and education on managing their condition.

In some cases, you may need more intensive treatment. You may need to go to a psychiatric hospital. This could be because your mental illness is severe. Or it could be because you are at risk of hurting yourself or someone else. In the hospital, you will get counseling, group discussions, and activities with mental health professionals and other patients.

A miscarriage is an unexpected loss of pregnancy before the 20th week. Most miscarriages happen very early in the pregnancy, often before a woman even knows she is pregnant.

A miscarriage can happen in any pregnancy. Most miscarriages occur because the fetus doesn't develop properly. This is often linked to a genetic problem with the fetus, such as an extra or missing chromosome.

In many cases, the cause of a miscarriage is unknown. Some possible factors that may increase the chance of a miscarriage can include:

• Problems with the uterus or cervix
• Chronic diseases, including polycystic ovary syndrome
• Genetic problems with the fetus
• Pregnancy after 35 years of age
• Smoking, drug or alcohol use
• Certain chronic (long-term) health conditions, such as uncontrolled diabetes
• Severe malnutrition

The signs of a miscarriage may be different for everyone and can vary based on how far along you are in your pregnancy.

Signs of a miscarriage can include:

• Vaginal spotting or bleeding with or without pain. Some women may have some spotting in early pregnancy and don't miscarry. To be sure, contact your provider right away if you have any bleeding.
• Dark-colored vaginal discharge.
• A gush of fluid or tissue from your vagina.
• Cramping or pain in your abdomen (belly) or lower back.

Sometimes, it's hard to know what's normal during pregnancy. If something seems unusual or is worrying you, talk to your provider.

To check if you have had a miscarriage, your provider may do the following:

• A pelvic exam to check your cervix.
• Blood tests to check things such as the amount of blood loss and confirm pregnancy.
• An ultrasound to check the fetus.

Treatment after a miscarriage often depends on when it occurs during the pregnancy. If you miscarry early in your pregnancy, you may not need any treatment. If you are 12 or more weeks pregnant, you may need a shot to prevent problems with the Rh factor in future pregnancies.

In some cases, tissue is left in the uterus. If you don't have any signs of infection, your provider may recommend waiting for the tissue to pass naturally. If you need treatment to remove the tissue, it can include:

• Medicines
• A procedure called dilatation and curettage (D&C) or vacuum aspiration

No matter when it occurs, losing a pregnancy can be difficult. Counseling may help you cope with your grief. Later, if you decide to try to get pregnant again, talk with your provider to understand any risks. Many women who have a miscarriage go on to have healthy pregnancies later.

Miscarriage can affect anyone and often can't be prevented. Focus on taking good care of yourself and start prenatal care visits early in your pregnancy.

NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an imaging test that is usually painless and uses magnets, radio waves, and a computer to create detailed pictures of the inside of your body. MRI scans show organs and soft tissues clearly and can help tell healthy from unhealthy tissue in many cases.

MRI scans are often used to diagnose conditions that affect soft tissues and to monitor treatment.

MRI may be used to look at:

• The brain, spinal cord, and nerves
• Muscles, ligaments, and tendons
• Joints, such as the knee or shoulder

MRI does not use x-rays or other radiation. Because of this, it may be used when repeat imaging is needed.

MRI machines use powerful magnets. Metal objects or implants can interfere with the scan and may be unsafe.

Before your MRI, you will need to remove items such as:

• Jewelry and watches
• Hairpins
• Hearing aids

Before your MRI, tell your health care provider if you:

• Are pregnant
• Are breastfeeding, especially if you may receive contrast material (a substance that helps some parts of your body show up more clearly on the images)
• Feel anxious in enclosed spaces (claustrophobic)
• Have kidney problems
• Have metal in your body, such as bullets, shrapnel, or other metal fragments
• Have metal or electronic devices in your body, such as a pacemaker, artificial joint, or other implants
• Have tattoos or permanent makeup, since some darker inks may contain metal

You will usually change into a hospital gown. Sometimes before the test, you may receive contrast, which is usually given through a vein (intravenously or IV).

During the scan, you lie on a table that slides inside a large, tunnel-like machine. Some facilities use an open MRI machine, which is less enclosed. The machine makes loud noises as it takes pictures. You may be given earplugs or headphones.

The scan can take some time, depending on the part of your body being examined. You will need to stay very still during the scan.

After most MRI scans, you can return to normal activities right away. If you were given medicine to help you relax, someone will need to take you home.

A specialist called a radiologist reviews the images and shares them with your provider.

Your muscles help you move and help your body work. Different types of muscles have different jobs. There are many problems that can affect muscles. Muscle disorders can cause weakness, pain or even paralysis.

Causes of muscle disorders include:

• Injury or overuse, such as sprains or strains, cramps or tendinitis
• A genetic disorder, such as muscular dystrophy
• Some cancers
• Inflammation, such as myositis
• Diseases of nerves that affect muscles
• Infections
• Certain medicines

Sometimes the cause of muscle disorders is unknown.

Myasthenia gravis, sometimes called MG, is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that causes weakness in your voluntary muscles. The voluntary muscles are the ones that you can control. They include the muscles you use for:

• Eye and eyelid movement
• Facial expressions
• Chewing
• Talking
• Swallowing
• Breathing
• Moving your arms and legs

You can also have weakness in other muscles. This weakness gets worse with activity, and better with rest.

Myasthenia gravis is a type of autoimmune disease. In autoimmune diseases, your immune system attacks the healthy cells of your organs and tissues by mistake.

Myasthenia gravis is caused by an error in how nerve signals are sent to muscles. These signals get blocked at the nerve-muscle junction. This junction is the place where the nerve endings connect with the muscles they control.

Normally, this is how the signals work:

• The signals travel down a nerve that controls movement in the muscle
• The nerve endings release a substance called acetylcholine
• Acetylcholine binds to the muscle tissue at the nerve-muscle junction
• This causes the muscle to contract (move)

But in someone with myasthenia gravis, the body's own immune system makes antibodies that block the binding of acetylcholine to the muscle. This makes the muscles weaker.

The thymus gland, which is part of your immune system, may play a role in myasthenia gravis. Normally, your thymus gland is active and growing when you are a child. It makes white blood cells to fight infections. At puberty, it starts getting smaller and is replaced by fat. It is usually small by the time you are an adult. But in many adults with myasthenia gravis, the thymus gland stays large. And some people with myasthenia gravis can get thymomas, which are tumors of the thymus. The are usually benign (not cancer), but they can sometimes become cancerous.

Although myasthenia gravis can affect people of any age, it is most common in young adult women (under age 40) and older men (over age 60). It is usually not inherited (passed down in families).

Myasthenia gravis normally does not affect infants. But if you are pregnant and have myasthenia gravis it's possible to pass the antibodies to your fetus. The baby can then be born with neonatal myasthenia. This condition is usually temporary, and the symptoms typically go away within two to three months after birth.

The symptoms of myasthenia gravis will depend on which muscles are affected. The symptoms often include:

• Weakness of the eye muscles
• Drooping of one or both eyelids
• Blurred or double vision
• Changes in facial expressions
• Trouble swallowing
• Shortness of breath
• Speech problems
• Weakness in the arms, hands, fingers, legs, and neck

Different people have different levels of muscle weakness. And the weakness can vary from day to day. Some days it might be mild, and other days it might be worse. Physical activity often makes the muscle weakness worse.

Some people with myasthenia gravis can get severe weakness that affects the muscles that control breathing. This is called a myasthenic crisis, and it is a life-threatening emergency.

There are many other conditions that can cause muscle weakness, so myasthenia gravis can be hard to diagnose. To find out if you have myasthenia gravis, your health care provider:

• Will ask about your medical history and symptoms
• Will do a physical exam, including a neurological exam
• Will likely order tests for myasthenia gravis, including:
  • Blood tests
  • Imaging tests
  • Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies

There is no cure for myasthenia gravis, but treatments that can improve muscle weakness and help with symptoms. They include:

• Anticholinesterase medicines, which can improve nerve-to-muscle messages and make muscles stronger.
• Immunosuppressive medicines, which are medicines that decrease your body's immune system responses. They can lower your body's production of abnormal antibodies.
• Monoclonal antibodies, which can also help decrease your body's immune system responses.
• Plasmapheresis (plasma exchange) and intravenous immunoglobulin, which are procedures to remove abnormal antibodies from your blood. They are usually used in severe cases. They can help with symptoms for a few weeks or months.
• Thymectomy, surgery to remove the thymus gland. It can reduce the symptoms of myasthenia gravis, possibly by rebalancing the immune system.

Lifestyle changes may be helpful for some people. The changes could include regular gentle exercise, getting enough rest, and eating healthy foods.

Some people with myasthenia gravis go into remission. This means that they do not have symptoms. The remission is usually temporary, but sometimes it can be permanent.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke