Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy is a disorder that weakens a persons muscles that help the

body move. A person with muscular dystrophy has missing information in their genes

that prevents them from creating certain proteins that they need for their

muscles. There are 30 types of this disease. Symptoms vary with different types of

muscular dystrophy some people have it way more than others and it can actually

effect your heart and lungs, others who don't have it as severe find it difficult to run,

jump and use their hands. Other symptoms include mental retardation, difficulties

using more than one muscle group, drooling because your muscles in your face are

getting weaker, and delayed walking. Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder, it's not

contagious and you can't catch it from people who do have it.

There are many types of this disease. The worst type is called Duchenne.

Duchenne usually effects boys and symptoms start at 2 years old. This disease is caused

by lack of dystrophen which is a protein that helps keep your muscle cells in shape and

strong, without this protein a person's muscles break down and gradually becomes

weaker. The heart and lungs can also be effected. Breathing can become harder and

they can even develop scoliosis. Most people with this disease end up in a wheel chair

at the age of 10 and later might need a ventilator for breathing. People with this disease

usually don't live past their teen years. Symptoms of this disorder are frequent falls,

large calf muscles, difficulty getting up from a lying or sitting position. Weakness in

lower leg muscles, resulting in difficulty running and jumping, waddling gait, and mild

mental retardation, in some cases.

Another type of Muscular Dystrophy thats not as strong is called CMT. CMT

which stands for Charcot-Marie Tooth disease was discoverd by physicians Jean Martin

Charcot,Pierre Marie, and Howard Henery Tooth. There are several types of this

disorder and they all show wasting of the muscles. Just like the other disease

Duchenne, it proggresses slowly through the years. CMT mostly effects your legs

making it difficult for you to walk. People with this type of disease have feet

deformaties. The arch of the foot is raised making it easier for someone to lose their

balance or fall. Many people with CMT eventually develop stiffened joints that result

in deformities of the feet and hands. The contractures occur because as some muscles

around a joint weaken, others remain strong, contracting and pulling on the joint. Over

time, the bones around the joint shift into abnormal positions. It's not life threatning but

later on people with this disorder usually end up in wheel chairs. As muscles that lift the

foot at the ankle become weak, muscles that lower and curl the foot downward contract

and tighten, causing the most common type of foot deformity which is a shortend foot

with a high arch. As the contracture gets worse, the toes can become locked in a flexed

position. A small fraction of people though with CMT can develop flat feet because of

a different pattern of muscle weakness. As CMT progresses, contractures in the hand

can lock the fingers in a flexed position, and in rare cases severe proximal weakness can

lead to scoliosis or kyphosis.