Muscular Dystrophy Essay

Muscular Dystrophy is a disorder that is passed down through families, and can occur in both adulthood, and childhood. There are multiple types of Muscular Dystrophy such as Becker MD, Duchenne MD(deadly), Emery-Deifuss MD, Facioscapulohumeral MD, Limb-Girdle MD, Myotonia MD, Mytonic MD etc.. Symptoms related to muscular dystrophy inlcue muscle weakness(slowly gets worse over time), delayed development to muscle motor skills, loss of strength in a muslce/group of muscles, loss in muscle size, difficulty of using more than one muscle group, and possible mental retardation(only present in some cases of muscular dystrophy). In some cases, it is even known to cause scoliosis. Muscular dystrophy is connected to genetics in many ways. One being in Duchenne muscular dystrophy; for the mutation occurs in the DMD gene, responsible for making the Dystopihin protein, which can be found on the X-Chromosome. The mutation can either be passed along from the parents, or a new mutaion can happen in the baby. The DMD gene without the mutation would regularly stabilize and protect muscle fibers and may play a role in chemical signaling within cells, but with the irreularity, the DMD changes shape, which makes it unable to then produce the Dystopihin protein. Without this protein, the muscles repetitively contract and release, which can weaken fibers that will eventually die over time. It is known to lead to heart problems, muscle weakness, and can lead to death. Unfortunatealy, there is no known cure to the various types of muscualr dystrophy. Although there is no way to completely get rid of it, various activities help maintain its severity. In severe cases, physical theraphy can help maintain a healthy muscle strength, wheelchairs can help improve mobility, and sometimes surgery on the spine or legs can help maintain function. It helps to stay as active as possible to keep muscles healthy, becausecomplete inactivity worses the disease. Sometimes drug therapy can help