10/09/2025
Have you heard of Duchenne muscular dystrophy?
Here's a little about it.
In the early stages, DMD affects the shoulder and upper arm muscles and the muscles of the hips and thighs. These weaknesses lead to difficulty in rising from the floor, climbing stairs, maintaining balance and raising the arms.
In the early stages, DMD affects the shoulder and upper arm muscles and the muscles of the hips and thighs. These weaknesses lead to difficulty in rising from the floor, climbing stairs, maintaining balance and raising the arms.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive, genetic (X-linked recessive) neuromuscular disorder caused by mutations to the DMD gene, resulting in the dysfunction or absence of the dystrophin protein. When functional, dystrophin helps keep muscle cells intact, and without dystrophin, muscle cells are vulnerable to injury, resulting in progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. DMD is one of four conditions known as dystrophinopathies. The other three diseases that belong to this group are Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD, a milder condition than DMD); an intermediate clinical presentation between DMD and BMD; and DMD-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (heart-disease) with little or no clinical skeletal, or voluntary, muscle disease.
DMD symptom onset is in early childhood, usually between ages 2 and 3. The disease primarily affects males, though females can be symptomatic carriers, or in rare cases can be severely affected.
DMD occurs in approximately 1 in 3,500 to 5,000 male births.
