Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research Paper

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Introduction to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is caused by the mutation of the necessary muscle protein dystrophin that occurs on the X chromosome, and due to the way the disease is inherited it usually affects males. Males have only one copy of the X chromosome from their mother and one copy of the Y chromosome from their father. If their X chromosome has a DMD gene mutation, they will have Duchenne muscular dystrophy. According to the US National Library of Medicine (www.nlm.nih.gov) the sons of females who are carriers of the disease (women with the defective gene, but have no symptoms themselves) each have a 50% chance of having the disease. The daughters each have a 50% chance of being carriers, but very rarely …show more content…

The most typical symptom that appears is the delay of motor skills and milestones amongst children, such as standing and sitting on their own. There is the degeneration of the muscle along with progressive muscle weakness of the legs and pelvic muscles, which is associated with a loss of muscle mass called wasting. This muscle weakness causes a wobbling, unsteady gait and difficulty climbing stairs. Muscle weakness also occurs in the arms, neck, as well as other areas, but not as severe as in the lower half of the …show more content…

Steroid drugs can help in slowing down the wasting away of the muscles and maintaining muscle integrity. Even though possible side effects of taking steroids include weight gain, high blood pressure, changes in behavior and delayed growth, it helps to improve the function and strength of the person (http://mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/). Aggressive treatments for cardiomyopathy are managed with anti-congestive heart medications, but in some severe cases heart transplants are the much more needed

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