Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH MUSCLES IN CHILDHOOD MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY WHAT IS MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY? Muscular Dystrophy (MD) is a disease in which the muscles of the body get extremely weak and slowly stop working. The genes in a persons body tell the body how to make the proteins needed for the body to stay healthy and strong. In MD sufferers these genes give the body the wrong information which leads to the proteins not being made properly. There are about 30 different forms of Muscular Dystrophy which affect children. Some of these include: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Myotonic Dystrophy Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Facsioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy Congenital Muscular Dystrophy Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY The most common and severe type of MD is Duchenne MD. .It affects about one out of three and a half thousand boys. This disease usually affects boys because even though girls can carry the gene, they usually have no symptoms. The symptoms usually appear at the young age of about five when pelvic muscles start to weaken. With other muscles in the shoulders, back, arms and legs eventually also weakening. Most kids with Duchenne MD need to use a wheelchair by the age of about 12 and eventually a ventilator is needed to assist breathing. Duchenne MD occurs because of a problem with the gene that creates a protein called dystrophin. Without this protein the muscles break down and weakness occurs Kids with Duchenne MD usually have life span of twenty years. MYOTONIC DYSTROPHY (STEINERT’S DISEASE) Myotonic Dystrophy is caused by a portion of a particular gene being larger than it should be. Myotonic Dystrophy usually occurs in 1 to 20,000 people and can affect children as young as 10. It usually starts in the muscles of the hands, feet, neck and face. The main symptoms are muscle weakness, Myotona (when the muscles have trouble relaxing after they contract) and muscle wasting, with the muscles wasting over time. Children with myotonic dystrophy can develop cataracts and have heart problems. LIMB-GIRDLE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY This type of MD equally effects both boys and girls. The symptoms usually begin to appear between 8 to 15 years old. It progresses slowly and affects the pelvic, shoulder and back muscles. Muscle weakness varies with some children having mild symptoms and others needing to use a wheelchair when they are older. FACIOSCAPULOHUMERAL MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY LANDOUZY-DEJERINE Facioscapulohumeral MD usually develops in early childhood and is noticeable by the teen years. It usually starts by affecting the skeletal muscles of the face, scapula and upper arms and can affect other parts of the body, for example it can also affect the stomach muscles, the biceps, triceps and lower arm muscles. CONGENITAL MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY A person born with muscular dystrophy usually has this type of MD. People born with Congenital MD are usually born with weak muscles and may have joint deformities also. This form of MD progresses fairly slowly. EMERY-DREIFUSS MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY Emery-Dreifuss MD usually affects the muscles used for movement such as the skeletal muscles as well as the cardiac muscles. This disease usually affects people in early childhood through to the teen years The earliest features visible in people who have this disease are joint deformities called contractures. It mostly affects the elbows, ankles and neck. Almost all people who suffer Emery-Dreifuss MD usually also have heart problems which is noticeable by adulthood.