Muscular Dystrophy By Jessica Wang

Muscular Dystrophy Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a group of muscle diseases that can be passed from family member to family member and weakens the muscles that move the body. Duchenne, Becker, limb girdle, congenital, facioscapulohumeral, myotonic, oculopharyngeal, distal and Emery-Dreifuss are all types of muscular dystrophy. There are more than 100 diseases similar to muscular dystrophy. Currently any type of muscular dystrophy is incurable. Muscular dystrophy can lead to learning problems and mood swings. The general symptoms of muscular dystrophy include: Calf pain Frequent falls Bad balance Walking difficulty Scoliosis Drooping eyelids Inability to walk

Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a severe form of muscular dystrophy that breaks down muscles, eventually leading to loss of walking ability and perhaps death. Sometimes even the muscles needed to breathe are affected, and some boys It affects one male in 3500, making it the most common of all muscular dystrophies. It got its name from the French scientist Guillaume Benjamin Amand Duchenne(1806-1875), who first introduced the disease in 1861. It only affects males, but even though it is extremely rare, it may appear in females as well. Symptoms usually appear in males before age 5, and may be seen in early infancy. By age 10, braces are required for walking, though most boys are in wheelchairs by age 12. The average lifespan for patients diagnosed with DMD ranges from the late teens to age 20, though there has been reports of people with DMD living up to 40 years, though it is very rare. It is currently incurable, though promising research is being conducted to find a therapy to moderate the effects of DMD.

Becker’s muscular dystrophy Becker’s muscular dystrophy (also known as Benign pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy) is a form of muscular dystrophy in which the pelvis area or leg muscles break down. It is very similar to DMD, but it is far less severe. Symptoms may not appear until age 10 or even in adulthood. Many people with BMD can live long, healthy lives without requiring a wheelchair. The lifespan for most people with BMD is 40, but some people can have longer lives. If a man with BMD has a son and daughter, the son will not get the disease but the daughter will become a carrier( meaning half-infected) , and her son may get the disease fully. Becker’s muscular dystrophy got its name from the German doctor Peter Emil Becker, who first discovered the disease after a war. It occurs in about 3 to 6 in 100,000, making it much less common than DMD. It can be inherited, but quite a lot of the affected just receive it without any reasons why. It only affects males, but females can become carriers. Some of the symptoms for BMD are: Difficulty breathing Scoliosis Fatigue Heart disease Toe-walking

Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy (EDMD) is a form of muscular dystrophy that mainly affects the skeletal muscles and the cardiac (heart) muscles. It is named after Alan Emery, a British neuromuscular geneticist and Fritz E. Dreifuss, a German-born, American neurologist who first identified the disease. Like DMD, it mostly affects boys, who inherit the disease through their mothers. Symptoms usually start from late childhood to early teens and sometimes even as late as 25. Some symptoms are: Contractures (when muscles shorten permanently) Muscle weakness and wasting in the shoulders, upper arms and calves Joint stiffening Fainting (because of cardiac abnormalities) Most men with EDMD survive into middle age. Like with BMD, heart problems might develop and can cause death. The heart is affected in a rather unusual way; instead of attacking the muscle itself, it attacks the electrical wiring (known as the cardiac conduction system) that controls the rate at which the heart beats. This is known as ‘heart block’. The heart rate is often unusually slow and fainting spells as well as attacks of giddiness may occur. Breathlessness and increasing tiredness is also not uncommon in people with EDMD.

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