What is muscular dystrophy?

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Muscular dystrophy is a collection of diseases that are inherited where the muscles that are in charge of controlling movements referred to as voluntary muscles weaken over time. In some cases, the organs like the heart also get affected by this disease.

Muscular dystrophy comes in nine kinds or forms—Duchenne, Myotonic, Limb-girdle, Becker, Congenital, Facioscapulohumeral, Distal, Oculopharyngeal and Oculopharyngeal.

More about muscular dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy can strike a person during their infancy stage or up until middle age or even at a later part. The severity as well as form depends partly on what age it has occurred. There are some types of this disease which only affects the male population. Some of the patients who suffer from muscular dystrophy can also lead a normal life given that they only experience mild symptoms and these symptoms progress in a slow manner.

On the other hand, some patients may also experience severe symptoms and as such they suffer from the weakening of their muscles at an early age and can dies during their teenage years or when they are in their early 20s.

It is estimated that there are about 50,000 Americans who suffer from MD. But in recent years, technology has made it possible for children affected by MD to live longer compared to those who suffered from this disease some decades back.

Mmuscular dystrophy is due to the defects of some type of genes. In most cased of inherited MD come from the X-linked disorder s that are also inherited. The mothers are the one who transmit the X-linked disease to their sons, but these mothers are not affected by this illness.

The females who suffer from muscular dystrophy have both X chromosomes that are carrying the gene that is defective which is a very rare medical condition.

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