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Muscular Dystrophy Research Paper

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What is Muscular Dystrophy?

A neuromuscular disease that causes damages to the muscles over time is called muscular dystrophy. This disease is genetically passed down from generation to generation. The cause of the muscle weakness is a lack of protein called dystrophin. This is how they named it muscular dystrophy. This protein causes a numerous of problems for people who have this disease. The disease is only in males, especially the younger male. There are a lot of types of muscular dystrophy. The most common ones are Duchenne, Becker, and Congenital to name a few. Causes, the different types, symptoms, the treatment will all be explained more in depth on the disease more into the paper, so you can get a better understanding of the medical …show more content…

There is Duchenne, Becker, Congenital, Myotonic, and Limb- Girdle. Duchenne is a type that is the most common. The cause of this is in the legs and the upper arms. As most of these types, Duchenne is more common in young males. With having Duchenne muscular disease, the patient would be in a wheelchair. For Becker’s dystrophy, this is the less severe one. The weakness of the muscles is a slow process. With this disease, the older you are, if a male, the more complications and difficulties the patient would have. Limb girdle dystrophy is muscle weakness around the top of the arms and legs. This type of disease can affect men and women. This muscle dystrophy can cause weakness of the heart as a side effect (Jama Network, Vol 306). Congenital muscular dystrophy is the rare type, and affects babies at birth. Some symptoms of this disease would be poor head control, therefore, this makes the baby seem floppy. The muscle weakness for this disease is severe (virtual database, muscular dystrophy). Learning disorders, poorer outlook or breathing problems are some symptoms for congenital muscular dystrophy. Foremost, Myotonic dystrophy affects the facial muscles. This disease is the relaxation of the muscles after they contract, affecting the central nervous system as well. They first symptoms usually appear in the face or the neck. Some symptoms for this dystrophy would be weight loss, difficulty swallowing, or complications …show more content…

The doctor may do testing to the patient for further research. One test would be a blood test for creatine kinase, this blood level would be highly elevated. (Jama Network, Vol 306). A muscle biopsy is also performed by taking small samples of muscle. Muscle ultrasound or electromyogram all are imaging techniques to view the muscles. Blood test for genetic mutation is also performed on the patient. Enzyme testing is performed as well to view released damaged muscles. A genetic analysis test could be performed as

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