2. What is the disease? Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a disease that weakens the muscles in your body rapidly. It is caused by a lack of dystrophin, a protein. Dystrophin helps keep the muscle cells intact.
3. How is the disease inherited? GirlsBoys XX XY The disease is inherited through the X-linked recessive gene. Only the X gene is affected. Mothers can be carriers, but will not get the disease.
4. Symptoms -Fatigue -Mental retardation (possible, but does not worsen over time) -Muscle weakness *Begins in legs and pelvis, but also occurs in the arms, neck and other parts of the body *Difficulty with motor skills *Frequent falls *Rapidly worsening weakness -Progressive difficulty walking *Ability to walk may be gone by age 12 {By age 10, person may need braces for walking. By 12, most patients are confined to a wheelchair}
5. How is the disease tested or diagnosed? The patient will have an increased amount of an enzyme called creatine kinase in their blood. Boys who are thought to have Duchenne, will have a muscle biopsy. A muscle biopsy is the sampling of muscle tissue for microscopic examination. Another way of testing this is through electromyography, which is a test that estimates muscle strength and evaluates the nerves that control that muscle.
6. Occurrence of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy 1 out of every 3,600 males Most common of childhood muscular dystrophies Boys are more at risk for inheriting this disease because of its X-linked gene
7. Treatments Activity is encouraged because bed rest can worsen the disease Physical therapy is helpful to maintain muscle strength and function *Swimming is a good way to help with this disease
8. More Info There is no cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Boys with this disease will usually not survive past late teens or early adulthood Mothers who carry the trait for the disease have a 50/50 chance of passing it on to their son. Mothers alsohave a 50/50 chance of passing the trait to their daughters.
9. Jesse Davidson Jesse Davidson was born on April 10, 1980. When he was six years old he was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular dystrophy. When Jesse was 15, John, his father, pushed Jesse 2,050.5 miles across Canada in his wheelchair. His charity is known as Jesse’s Journey. He met the Prime Minister of Canada and Queen Elizabeth II. His fund raised over 3 million dollars towards research. He died on November 6, 2009.
