Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular Dystrophy is a multitude of diseases that cause the progressive decay of muscle mass and overall muscle weakness. Muscular dystrophy dates all the way back to 1836 where it was first accounted for by Conte and Gioja two doctors who described two brothers with progressive muscle weakness beginning at age 10. The boys were diagnosed with multiple muscle hypertrophy and generalized weakness, which is know more commonly known as characteristics of Becker’s muscle dystrophy. However, back when Conte And Gioja made this discovery it was widely dismissed and unacknowledged since most of the public thought it was a study on tuberculosis. Some years later in 1852, Meyron conducted a study on the bodies of four dead brothers who all had significant muscular changes without any abnormality in their central nervous systems. His study was written as a comprehensive report on muscular dystrophy which stated that a defect in the sarcolemma of bones was the reason for MD and how muscular dystrophy was genetically transmitted through females but somehow only males were affected at the time.

                   In 1868, neurologist Guillaume Duchenne who was extremely well known for using electric therapy on patients with neurological disorders conducted an experiment on 13 of his patients who all had the same muscular disorder which he called “paralysie musculaire pseudo hypertrophique”. Based on the findings in his study and his overall contribution to the study of muscular diseases he came to have a certain type of muscular dystrophy named after him called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This is one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy which is mostly present in children ages 2 to 6 and only affects males. DMD patients are usually wheelchair bound from a young age as their arms, legs, and spines become more distorted with age.

        Muscular dystrophy has a devastating effect on the body as a whole. It progressively weakens the major muscles of the body like your legs and arms, while also affecting the spine. There are over 30 types of muscular dystrophy and they all target these same muscles but have very different effects on the rest of the body based on the type of dystrophy. For example, DMD as stated before, attacks your leg and arm muscles while also affecting the heart/respiratory system causing the patient to have breathing problems. Patients afflicted with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy are usually bound to a wheelchair at a very early age, have learning disabilities, diagnosed with scoliosis, and this type of muscular dystrophy leads to an early death in most cases as most patients don’t survive into their 30s. Becker muscular dystrophy is very similar to Duchenne’s in the fact that it affects the same areas but the difference is it is far less severe and the deterioration of muscles occurs at a slower rate than Duchenne’s. People with Becker’s usually survive till middle age and some patients can even continue to walk into early adulthood. Congenital muscular dystrophy is a form of muscular dystrophy that occurs at birth and attacks the brain first which leads to joint complications later in life. In this type of dystrophy the babies afflicted have limited movements, low muscle tone and floppiness.

        The symptoms for muscular dystrophy vary throughout which ever form of dystrophy it is. People affected by muscular dystrophy have different degrees of independence, mobility and needs. These needs will vary within each type of muscular dystrophy and between types. The most severe conditions cause major disability and shorten life expectancy, while the milder conditions do not present any symptoms until later in life and progress more slowly. In the case of Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy most cases of occurrence have the symptoms of: constant muscle pain, having difficulty when running and jumping, learning difficulty, falling frequently, enlarged calf muscles, and the inability to walk properly. The symptoms for Becker’s muscular dystrophy is usually the same as the ones for DMD but it occurs at a later age and the symptoms are far less severe/life threatening. For Congenital muscular dystrophy the symptoms are usually apparent at birth or if not before the age of 2. Some forms progress rather quickly and cause severe impairment while others progress rather slowly and only lead to a more mild form of disability. Furthermore, for Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy which is another major form of muscular dystrophy, symptoms usually begin in the face or shoulders. Shoulder blades may stick out prevalently like wings when the afflicted person raises their arm, these symptoms are typically shown in the teenage years but may actually begin in as late as 40 years old. In the case of myotonic dystrophy, the most common form of muscular dystrophy in adults, most show early symptoms in their 20s but no clear cut explanation or symptoms are shown usually until age 50. This type of muscular dystrophy is passed down from generation to generation by those who have the disease, the disease gets worse and far more severe the more it passed down in successive generations of a family.