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What is Muscular Dystrophy Disease?

Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a disorder in genetic that makes the muscles helping the body move weaker and weaker gradually. This is caused by a faulty gene, nevertheless, different types of mutation in genetic will lead to different form of MD. In particular, a genetic deficiency in muscle protein (dystrophin) is the cause of various common forms of MD. Strangely, boys are more vulnerable to muscular dystrophy than girls. MD does not make the muscle weak all together; the process is rather gradual over time. This leads to the gradual deprivation of necessary abilities for adults, adolescents and even children. In fact, some kinds of MD can be observed in childhood, while many others may only come out when a person passes his/her middle age.

Kinds of Muscular Dystrophy:

Overall, we can spot nine forms of MD according to the range of time that the symptoms first appear, the muscles location, and how fast the symptoms progress. Several of the major kinds of MD are:
- Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD): This is one of the more common form of MD, and it is caused by a misfunction in the procedure of producing dystrophin (a type of protein). If the process is completed correctly, this protein will build the muscles solid and stay in shape. Hence, without the protein, an individual will become very vulnerable as the muscles crumble. Unfortunately, people suffering from DMD often die before they fully grow up.
- Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FMD): the primary difference between FMD and DMD is that FMD symptoms often come out when a person is in his/her early years. Bit By Bit it causes the legs, arms, chest and face muscles weaker and weaker; nonetheless the symptoms can also vary from person to person.
- Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy (MMD): a person with MMD often finds its symptoms when they have become adult. This type of MD causes difficulty for the muscles to loosen up, therefore sometimes make the muscles shrink over time. It can also result in heart troubles if the patient does not have medical care in time.

Diagnosis of Muscular Dystrophy:

As MDs are passed along from generation to generation, oftentimes it is needed to check the patient’s family history of muscle malfunctions very cautiously to have an accurate diagnosis. Besides, a thorough physical exam and some other tests will help decide the type of MD that the person has, as well as the right treatment for the disease.

Can we cure MD?
As much as we hate to admit, there has been no specific therapeutic to any form of MD. There are, nonetheless, treatments to slow the progress of MD. These treatments will help subdue the spine deformities, control the muscle activities, delay damage to the muscle, etc. Besides, medications like quinine, phenytoin or mexiletine can usually be used to treat myotonio, but they are not good for long term purpose.