This chapter will begin with a short explanation of what Muscular Dystrophy is and a general information paragraph over each type of the major muscular dystrophies today. What is Muscular Dystrophy? Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a genetic disorder that weakens skeletal muscles, the muscles that enable the human body to move. People with muscular dystrophy have missing or incorrect information in their genes, which prevents them from making the proteins they need for healthy muscles. Due to fact that muscular dystrophy is genetic, it is not contagious or contractible from another person; a person must be born with the problem. Muscular dystrophy weakens muscles over time, so children, teems, and adults who have the disease can gradually lose the ability to do the things most people take for granted, like sitting up or bending down. A patient with muscular dystrophy may have symptoms as a baby or later on in their life. There are several forms of muscular dystrophy, each of which weakens various categories of muscles in a numerous number of ways: Duchenne muscular dystrophy, also known as DMD, the most common type of muscular dystrophy, is caused by the incorrect information with the gene that generates a protein called dystrophin. The function of this protein is to help muscle cells keep their strength and shape. Without the presence of this protein, muscles begin to deteriorate and a person’s health becomes weaker. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is one of the types that affect boys, and symptoms of the disease begin to show between the ages of two and six. Most children with duchenne muscular dystrophy will require transportation by wheelchair by the age of ten or twelve. Patients with duchenne muscular dystrophy may experience heart c... ... middle of paper ... ... and can lock the joints in painful positions. Often, teens are fitted with special braces to ensure flexible joints and tendons (the strong, rubber band-like tissues that attach muscles to bones). Surgery is sometimes used to reduce pain and increase movement from contractures. Because we rely on certain muscles to breathe, some teens with MD need respiratory aids, such as a ventilator, to help them breathe. Teens with MD also might need to be treated for problems like scoliosis, which can be caused by weakened muscles or muscles that are contracting or pulling too tightly. For some types of MD, medication can help. Guys with Duchenne MD may be helped by a medicine called prednisone, and teens with myotonic MD might use mexilitine to relax muscles. It's also important that people with heart problems caused by muscular dystrophy be monitored by a heart specialist.
"Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 20 May 2014.
Muscular Dystrophy is a diverse group of disease which involves the weakness and wasting of muscles and leads to many other problems in physiological system. It is because of mutation in gene related to contraction and relaxation of muscles. Although recently no perfect treatment option is available for it but in nearby future cure of this disease will be available due to advanced technology and methods like gene therapy and stem cell technology.
Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy is a rare form of muscular dystrophy characterized by early onset contractures of the elbows, achilles tendons and post-cervical muscles with progressive muscle wasting and weakness It is also associated with heart complications like cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia which in both cases can lead to death. Cardiomyopathy is a heart disease which affects the muscles of the heart. In cardiomyopathy is muscles get rigid, enlarged or thick. They also sometimes changed by scar tissues. On the other hand arrhythmia is a disorder with the rhythm or rate of heartbeat. The heart can beat fast, which is called tachycardia or it could be beating too slow, which is called bradycardia. Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy is characterized by early onset of contractures and humeroperoneal distribution. Humeroperoneal refers to effects on the humerus and fibula. The genes known to be responsible for EDMD encode proteins associated with the nuclear envelope: the emerin and the lamins A and C.
As motor neurons degenerate, this obviously means they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that otherwise normally result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of ALS often include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the arms and legs, speech, swallowing or breathing. When muscles no longer receive the messages from the motor neurons that they require to function, the muscles begin to atrophy (become smaller). Limbs begin to look thinner as muscle tissue atrophies (Choi, 1988).
The skeletal and ultimate cardiac muscle fibers are affected by DMD. The disease starts by affecting the lower port...
Initial Preview: Today we will discuss the definitions/types of Lupus, its causes/symptoms, and the difficulty in diagnosing this confusing disease.
Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disorder in which your muscles drastically weaken over time. Muscles are replaced with “connective tissue,” which is more of a fatty tissue than a muscular one. The connective tissue is the tissue that is commonly found in scars, and that same tissue is incapable of movement. Although Muscular Dystrophy affects muscles in general, other types affect certain groups of muscles, and happen at different periods throughout a lifetime. For example one of the most common types, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, targets muscles in the upper thigh and pelvis. The disease is displayed throughout early childhood, usually between ages four and seven. This genetic disorder occurs only in boys. People have difficulty sitting up or standing and lose their ability to walk in their early teens. Sadly most people die by the age of twenty. A second common type, Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy affects the same muscles as Duchenne, but first appears in teenage years. Most people with Becker’s only live into their forties (Fallon 1824-1825).
Muscular dystrophy is a complex disease that has been around for many years. Although it was discovered in the 1830s there is constant discoveries about the disorder. (“New knowledge about Muscular dystrophy,” 2014 May 5) There are several research studies being done around the world to help find a cure. Here’s to hoping that a cure will be found and no more lives will be taken by this debilitating disease (“Muscular Dystrophy: Hope through Research,” 16 April 2014)
Chronic stiff neck can cause debilitating pain and difficulty in performing daily activities. Fortunately, drugs and therapies are available to help relieve pain and stiffness. Sometimes, the condition requires surgery. The treatment has a better chance of success when it starts preparation for use, particularly for children.
Muscular Dystrophy Association. (2013). Stages of als amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. [online] Retrieved from: http://mda.org/disease/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis/signs-and-symptoms/stages-of-als [Accessed: 9 Jan 2014].
...hromosome and the disease/disorder is passed down in an X linked recessive fashion. Symptoms include muscle weakening and wasting, and pain in the lower body. Mostly only the lower body’s muscles are affected causing the child to have to be confined to a wheelchair. The best way to diagnose Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is by doing a muscle biopsy to test for abnormal dystrophin levels. There is no treatment for the disease/disorder itself, but only for the symptoms of it. The average age of death in males with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the late thirty’s. Most deaths are caused by breathing complications or heart problems like cardiomyopathy. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy on average affects one in thirty five hundred male births worldwide. Overall, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is very hard to live with and affects many boys around the world.
Dilated cardiomyopathy accounts for approximately 15% of heart failure cases in the under 75s (“Chronic Heart Failure”). Patients with Dilated cardiomyopathy are usually unaware of the disease until they experience the signs and symptoms of heart failure or they develop an arrhythmia.
Studies have shown taping an ankle can limit range of motion if done correctly.1, 5 Another study done by Reut...
This is an overview of the spinal deformation called Scoliosis. What Scoliosis is as a whole, as well as a breif mention of other spinal deformations that are in a similar catagory as Scoliosis. The causes of scoliosis, and how it develops in people who suffer from the deformation. How Scoliosis is diagnosed and the symptoms it causes people to suffer in cases that are both mild and severe; are all topics that'll be covered.
Flexibility is the amount of movement your joints can move. Stretching is the key to maintaining good flexibility. As you get older, your tendons begin to shorten and tighten, restricting your flexibility. By the time you hit your mid-twenties, your bones begin to harden and your joints have already set in place. This is not bad in any way. It also means that you’re less likely to have any dislocated joints throughout your life. However, your movement becomes slower and not as smooth. You find it much more difficult to do co...