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Muscular dystrophy

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Definition:

Muscular dystrophy is a group of disorders that involve progressive muscle weakness and loss of muscle tissue.

Alternative Names:

Inherited myopathy; MD

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

The group of diseases called muscular dystrophies (MD) includes many inherited disorders, such as:

• Becker's muscular dystrophy
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy
• Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy
• Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy
• Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy
• Myotonic dystrophy
• Myotonia congenita

Lambert-Eaton syndrome and myasthenia gravis also have symptoms that may be similar to early stages of some types of muscular dystrophies, so these disorders must be ruled out before muscular dystrophy is diagnosed.

• Review Date: 9/10/2006
• Reviewed By: Daniel Kantor, M.D., Director of the Comprehensive MS Center, Neuroscience Institute, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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