Muscular Dystrophy

1482 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Duchenne muscular dystrophy case study

“Dystrophy,” originally coming from the Greek “dys,” which means “difficult” or “faulty, and “trophe,” meaning “nourishment” holds the interpretation “poor nutrition.” Today we know poor nutrition is not the cause of Muscular Dystrophy (“Myotonic Dystrophy”). Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disorder that affects between 500-600 newborns each year in the US (Statistics on Muscular Dystrophy). In general, this disorder weakens your skeletal muscles, and eventually they degenerate. Muscular Dystrophy also has several specific types within the disorder, such as: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Becker Muscular Dystrophy, and Myotonic Dystrophy. Each one has their own specific characteristics. 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). My... ... middle of paper ... ...tonic_dystrophy.jsp>. “Myotonic Dystrophy.” Human Diseases and Conditions. Ed. Neil Izenberg. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2000. Myotonic Dystrophy. Yale University School of Medicine. 1998. Department of Neurology. February 14, 2009. < http://www.med.yale.edu/neurol/programs/neuromuscular/myontonic_dystrophy.html>. Research Updates. University of Rochester Medical Center. November 10, 2008. National Institutes of Health. February 6, 2009. < http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/neurology/nih-registry/research/index.cfm>. Statistics on Muscular Dystrophy by Country. WD. February 11, 2009. US Census Bureau. Febrary 12, 2009. < http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/m/musdys/stats-country.htm>. What is Myotonic Dystrophy?. Genetics Home Reference. November 2006. US National Library of Medicine. February 9, 2009. < http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=myotonicdystrophy>.

Show More
Related

  • Duchenne Mascular Dystrophy Essay

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Physiological Basis of disease: DMD is the commonest and most serious form of the dystrophies. The gene responsible for dystrophin which, when absent, causes DMD. Amount of dystrophin correlates with the severity of the disease (i.e., the less dystrophin present, the more severe the phenotype). Since the gene is on the X chromosome, it primarily affects males, and females who are carriers have milder symptoms ( www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000705.htm).

    Read More

  • Improved Occupational Therapy for Adults with Learning Disabilities

    2912 Words  | 6 Pages

    WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION, 1997. Tabular list of neurological and related disorders. In: WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION, ed. Application of the International Classification of Diseases to Neurology. Canada: World Health Organisation, p. 153.

    Read More

  • Muscular Dystrophy Essay

    1843 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Parkinson's Disease Research Paper Outline

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    Goldmann, David R., and David A. Horowitz. American College of Physicians Home Medical Guide to Parkinson's Disease. New York: Dorling Kindersley Pub., 2000. Print.

    Read More

  • Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Essay

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    13. What is the average lifespan of an individual with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and what are some of the more common causes of death in individuals with this disease?

    Read More

  • Chronic Wasting Disease

    1491 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chronic Wasting Disease is a highly transmissible, deadly neurodegenerative disease that affects cervids in North America (Belay et al., 2004; Saunders et al., 2012). There are only four types of cervid that are known to get this disease which include elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and moose (Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance). It has been classified has a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), otherwise known as a prion disease (Belay et al., 2004). A prion is an irregular, pathogenic agent that causes abnormal folding of specific proteins called prion proteins. These proteins are mostly located in the brain (Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance). The abnormal folding of this protein causes neurodegenerative diseases in a variety of species including humans, sheep, cattle, and deer (Abrams et al., 2011).

    Read More

  • Myotonic Dystrophy Essay

    1627 Words  | 4 Pages

    Myotonic dystrophy, type 1, is a genetic disorder which is linked to chromosome number 19 in humans. The dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene is located on the q arm of the chromosome at the locus of 13.32. It is an autosomal dominant disorder, which means that the individuals that are affected by this disorder and contain at least one dominant allele for the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene. The disorder is caused by a series of repeats of a trinucleotide region that is expanded beyond the normal levels (Musova et al., 2009). The trinucleotide region is a series of repeats of CTG in the untranslated region of the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene. The severity of the disorder is associated with the number of repeats the individual has within the gene. Normal individuals tend to have between 5 and 37 repeats while an individual with a very mild myotonic dystrophy may have 50 to 150 repeats, and if the disorder is discovered at the time of birth the individual will have over 2,000 repeats of the trinucleotide region (Musova et al., 2009). Myotonic dystrophy, type 1, affects multiple organ systems of the body and is relatively slow to progress. Myotonic dystrophy, type 1, is categorized by alterations of the beating pattern of the heart, faulty dystrophin proteins, clouding of the lens of the eye, decreased functionality of the gonads, balding, and myotonia (Musova et al., 2009). Myotonia is described as the slow relaxation of any muscle type, which will cause the individual to use extended effort to simply relax the muscles after they have been contracted. Muscular dystrophy causes an individual to experience muscular deg...

    Read More

  • Muscular Dystrophy Essay

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first historical account of muscular dystrophy was identified by Sir Charles Bell in 1830. He wrote about a disease that caused weakness in boys that progressively got worse. In 1836 another scientist whose name is unknown reported about two brothers who developed muscle damage, generalized weakness. Also damaged muscle was replaced with fat and connective tissue. At the time the symptoms were thought to point to tuberculosis. During the 1850s reports of boys with progressive muscle weakness became more and more common. There were also reports of these boys losing the ability to walk and dying at an early age. In the next decade French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne gave and in depth account of 13 boys who had the most common ...

    Read More

  • The Etiology and Treatment of Parkinson Disease

    2617 Words  | 6 Pages

    Rowland, L. P., ed. Merritt’s Textbook of Neurology. 7th ed. Lea and Febiger. Philadelphia: 1984.

    Read More

  • DYSTHYMIC DISORDER

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    &#61558; Dysthymic disorder, also called dysthymia, is a type of depression involving long-term chronic symptoms that do not disable an individual, but keep them from functional at full steam or from feeling good.

    Read More

  • Causes of Bipolar Disorder and Prevalence

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kanske, P., Heissler, J., Schönfelder, S., Forneck, J., & Wessa, M. (2013). Neural correlates of

    Read More

  • Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Essay

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, also known as DMD, is the most common form of muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy is a condition that is inherited, and it is when muscles slowly become more and more weak and wasted. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a form of muscular dystrophy that is very rapid and is most commonly found in boys. In muscle, there is a protein named dystrophin. Dystrophin is encoded by the DMD gene. When boys have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, they do not produce enough dystrophin in their muscles. This causes weakness in their muscles. Parents can tell if their child has duchenne muscular dystrophy by looking for various symptoms.

    Read More

  • Tobacco Cigarettes vs. Electronic Cigarettes

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 26 Sept. 2011. Web. The Web. The Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Dementia in Older Adults

    2100 Words  | 5 Pages

    National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2011). National Institutes of Health. Retrieved [18th April 2011] from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/picks/picks.htm.

    Read More

  • Neurological Assessment

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sullivan, S. J., Hammond-Tooke, G. D., Schneiders, A. G., Gray, A. R., & McCrory, P. (2012). The diagnostic accuracy of selected neurological tests. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 19. 423-427. doi:10.1016/j.jocn.2011.09.011

    Read More

More about Muscular Dystrophy

Open Document