Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular Dystrophy is a progressive disease where a group of mutated genes interferes with protein production. Our bodies need protein to help form healthy muscle tissue. Muscular Dystrophy is either caused by a genetic mutation, or a spontaneous mutation and the outcome is a loss of muscle mass. In most cases symptoms begin in childhood, when the muscles are still forming, however, there have also been some cases of the disease surfacing in adulthood. Primarily found in boys, the most common thread of the disease is called Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Symptoms of this variation of the disease are falling over frequently and having trouble getting up from sitting or lying, difficulty running or jumping, muscle pain and stiffness. Other types of the disease have similar symptoms but are milder forms of the condition and specific to an area, limbs or organs; these are myotonic, facioscapulohumeral, congenital, and limb-girdle. In most cases of this progressive muscle weakness, the patient will lose the ability to walk, have a shortening of muscles and tendons, curved spine heart trouble, and have trouble breathing and swallowing. There is no cure for muscular dystrophy, but there are treatments and medications to slow and manage the disease.