Genetic Research Project
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
What this disorder is:
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a form of muscular dystrophy that causes weakness and gradual loss of muscle mass and can worsen quickly.
What kind of disorder?
- Inherited disorder which means risks of this include family history.
- X-linked recessive: It's found on the x chromosome
Symptoms & Characteristics
Symptoms: Muscle weakness, breathing difficulties, fatigue, learning problems, and heart disease can start at the age of 20.
Characteristics: ability to walk may be lost by 12 (wheelchair), lack of motivation, lack in motor skills
Average age of onset:
Symptoms usually appear before the age of 6 and could appear even at infancy.
Common in Males:
Usually affects boys, very rarely is a girl affected.
Occurs in about 1 out of 3600 male infants
Male: 50% chance of disorder from carrier
Female: 50% chance of carrier from carrier
Treatments:
No cure, so treatment helps improve quality of life.
- Steroid drugs help slow the loss in muscle strength
- Amino acids, Fish oil, Vitamin E, Green tea extract
- Stem cells & gene therapy
- Physical activity is encouraged (inactivity worsens it)
- Physical Therapy, Surgery, Nutrition
Life Affects:
The affected person has speech problems and a hard time moving around. This disorder will prevent the person from moving around freely. It requires constant checkups at the hospital and multiple forms of tests for treatments.