The Muscular Dystrophy Canada

Muscular dystrophy is a degenerating disease, in which the skeletal muscles degenerate, lose their strength, and cause increasing disability and deformity. Muscles attached to the bones through tendons are responsible for movement in the human body, however, in muscular dystrophy the muscles become progressively weak. As the muscle fibers

Credibility Statement: According to the "Muscular Dystrophies" by Harvey B.Sarnat in Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 20th Ed 2016, "A muscular dystrophy is distinguished from all other neuromuscular diseases by 4 obligatory criteria: It is a primary myopathy, it has a genetic basis,

Listener Relevance: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), is more common than people think and chances are sooner or later you will know of or see somebody affected by this disease.

Individuals who inherit this disease will have a rapid progression of symptoms. Walking becomes difficult and skeletal contractures and muscle atrophy follows. They also usually need wheelchairs by adolescence. Half of the receivers of the disease unfortunately develop some form of mental retardation and most never make it past their teenage years. Currently, options for a treatment of muscular dystrophy are limited. Physical therapy may slow down the progression of deformities. Such devices as wheel chairs, crutches, or secondary orthopedic limbs may permit mobility. There are also a few medications that can help relieve pain and stiffness in the muscles. The Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy Research and the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh helped fund a research project for the disease. The research, carried out by Johnny Huard, Ph.D., is looking fairly successful. Scientists are isolating special

According to the MediLexicon Medical Dictionary, muscular dystrophy is defined as a general term for a number of hereditary, progressive degenerative disorders affecting skeletal muscles, and often other organ systems (Staff). Basically what that means is that muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder that is passed down that affects the skeletal muscles and other organs by slowly breaking them down. Since it is genetic, it is not contagious and you cannot catch it from someone who has it. MD weakens muscles over time, so children, teens, and adults who have the disease can gradually lose the ability to do the things most people take for granted, like walking or sitting up. Someone with MD might start having muscle problems as a baby or

Even though the annual telethon is over, muscular dystrophy—all nine forms—still exists. MD presents with a combination of muscle weakness and muscle wasting.

Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive genetic disorder that leads to muscle atrophy and eventually death. Diagnosing DMD consists of blood tests, genetic testing, and muscle biopsies. Signs and symptoms begin presenting in toddlers with DMD and progressively worsen throughout life. There is no cure for DMD, and will cause terminal cardiopulmonary complications. Medical interventions consist of corticosteroid treatment, respiratory management, cardiac management, psychological management, and physical therapy interventions.

Prior to the 1980s, there was minimum knowledge relating to the causes of muscular dystrophy. However, in 1986, researchers discovered a gene, soon to be named dystrophin, on the X chromosome. The gene, when mutated, reacted by causing Duchenne muscular dystrophies. During 1987, the protein in relation to the gene discovered a year early was officially classified and named dystrophin. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) develops due to the mutated gene failure to supply active dystrophin. This minimum amount of dystrophin affects the body by developing muscle damage and continued weakness from early life.

Currently, there are 9 major forms of muscular dystrophy which include: Myotonic, Becker, Limb-girdle, Facioscapulohumeral, Congenital, Oculopharyngeal, Distal, Emery-Dreifuss, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Mayo Clinic, 2014). For the purpose of this paper, the cause, as well as the impact of Duchenne muscular dystrophy on development, will be discussed.

One major problem associated with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is the prevalence of fibrosis that occurs in the skeletal muscles, heart, and lungs of these patients. In the heart and lungs, fibrosis inhibits the body’s ability to perform cardiopulmonary or respiratory function, respectively. These conditions typically result in death if no emergency medical attention is given. Fibrosis can also present as contractures in the skeletal muscle fibers, which will usually result in the loss of skeletal muscular function and the need for surgery.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by a mutated gene in the X chromosome. This flawed genes is passed on by the mother. However, most carrier of the gene do not show signs or symptoms of the disease. The The flawed gene causes the improper production of the protein dystrophin which is accompanied by “defective dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC) in the sarcolemma and leads to progressive muscle degeneration” (Nakamura & Takeda, 2011). The Dystrophin protein is vital in providing a muscle integrity. Therefore, the absence of dystrophin production can lead to muscled atrophy.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is one of the most severe yet common cases of Muscular Dystrophy that occurs mainly in boys of younger age. Guillaume Benjamin Amand Duchenne, who was a French neurologist, was the first to discover this disorder in the 1860s (Emery, 2008, pp. 25). This disease is an X-linked disorder which affects the skeletal system, and causes rapid muscular weakness and heart muscle problems. It’s stated that 1 out of every 3,600 males will be diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (Bushby, 2009, pp.1). According to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, symptoms usually begin to show between the ages of 3 to 5 years old. (pp. 1) Some of the symptoms may include delayed in walking, regularly falling, learning difficulties,

When people hear about diseases most of them don’t understand what exactly causes the disease in the first place, or even how widespread it could be. So they go about their days ignoring the disease all together. Such as the case for Muscular Dystrophy (MD). According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Muscular Dystrophy in its more predominant forms affects 1 in every 5,000 males. The two most common forms of Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne and Becker (DBMD), affects 1 in every 7,250 males aged 5 – 24 years (CDC, 2017). Muscular Dystrophy has been shown to affect males more so than females. It has also been shown that DBMD among Non-Hispanic blacks were lower than Hispanics and Non-Hispanic whites. (CDC). In 2009

Muscular dystrophy can be diagnosed with a physical exam and diagnostic testing completed by the child’s pediatrician. Additional information that will be obtained during the examination will be family history, pregnancy history, and birth history. Diagnostic studies for muscular dystrophy include muscle serum enzymes (especially creatine kinase), electromyogram (EMG) testing, muscle fiber biopsy, electrocardiogram abnormalities reflective of cardiomyopathy, and genetic pedigree (Lewis, 2011). Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by the lack of dystrophin. A muscle biopsy can be done to confirm a diagnosis of muscle dystrophy. The biopsy will show evidence of significant fat and connective tissue deposits, deterioration and necrosis of muscle fibers, and a lack of the muscle

Therefore, I'm gonna talk about the causes, the common types and the treatments for the Muscular Dystrophy.