Duchennes

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Shane Davidson

Anatomy & Physiology

MA-110

Terry Skottegaard

12/1/11



Throughout the world, there are many disorders that are kind of kept out of the publics eye. Last February, I remember sitting watching the Super Bowl and during one of the famous commercial time slots, appeared Linebacker of the Green Bay Packers, Clay Matthew. During this specific commercial, Clay was raising awareness about Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy. Despite this being the most common muscle disease in children, at the time, I knew nothing of what it was and the impact families throughout the world are currently facing.

During the 1860’s, French Neurologist Guillaume Benjamin Amand Duchenne, was the first to bring Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) to the medical forefront. Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy is a progressive degeneration of a body tissues. The muscle tissue slowly deteriorates in the upper respiratory and pelvic areas and is primarily in boys; however, though the percentage of slim girls can be affected. This particular disorder can be fatal before a child is able to progress into their adolescent stage of life. According to the National Genome Research Institute, “Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy affects approximately 1 in 3500 male births worldwide.” This disorder is an inherited disorder and children of parents with family history are at risk. Gradually weakening the skeletal or voluntary muscles in the arms, legs, and trunk of an individual. As mentioned above, the heart and respiratory muscles are generally affected well before children reach adolescences.

Just like any other type of disorder, there are key symptoms that are associated with Duchennes. Such symptoms can be evident as early as infancy all the way up to the age of six years old. Weakness and muscle deficiencies start in the pelvic, hips, thighs, and shoulders .It is common to see deformities in the calves as well when assessing DMD. Muscle...