Muscular dystrophy (MD) is an inherited condition characterised by progressive muscular weakness leading to reduced mobility. It is caused by tiny defects in the structure of the genes responsible for the structure and function of a person’s skeletal muscles. The defects cause the muscle fibres to be unable to contract efficiently. Therefore, unlike other conditions that make muscles weak, it is the muscle cells themselves that cause the problem, not the nerves that stimulate the muscles.
Muscular dystrophy affects approximately 1 in 20,000 people in the UK. The nine main types of muscular dystrophy are:
- Duchenne
- Becker
- Limb-girdle
- Congenital
- Facioscapulohumeral
- Oculopharyngeal
- Myotonic dystrophy
- Distal
- Emery-Dreifuss
There also over one hundred other conditions with distinct similarities with muscular dystrophy.
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