Muscular Dystrophy
By: Kyle Brady
What is it?
Muscular dystrophy (MD) is mutated genes the interfere with the production of proteins in the muscles.
Is there a cure?
No, but there are treatments. MD can range from only lasting a few years to being life long. It usually only affects males and usually people enjoy a normal life span with slow moving symptoms, but some people suffer from it happening faster and die in their early teens or late twenties.
Can MD be inherited?
Muscular Dystrophy can be inherited as a sex linked trait on the X chromosome.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms may include but are not limited to
- Frequent falls
- Difficulty getting up from a lying or sitting position
- Trouble running and jumping
- Waddling gait
- Walking on the toes
- Large calf muscles
- Muscle pain and stiffness
- Learning disabilities
How many people are affected yearly?
Fewer than 200,000 are affected by MD annually.
Could it be prevented?
No, it's either caused by a parent that carries genotype that interferes with the genes that produce proteins to the muscles. Or while the offspring is still a zygote (egg cell) the cell mutates.