Congenital Muscular Dystrophies

What is Congenital Muscular Dystrophy?

Congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) refers to a group of muscular dystrophies that become apparent at or near birth. Muscular dystrophies in general are genetic, degenerative diseases primarily affecting voluntary muscles. CMD iis rare (affecting about 1 in 50,000 babies) and both males and females are equally likely to have this condition. CMD causes muscle weakness early in life - within the first six months of birth. For more information about Congenital Muscular Dystrophyclick here.

More information on MCD1A a type of CMD is available here.

Click here for the Congenital Muscular Dystrophy - Family Guide

Other useful resources:

www.curecmd.org - is an USA based organisation with lots of information on the different types of CMD.

www.mdausa.org - the Muscular Dystrophy Association USA website has an extensive site with plenty of further information on any muscular dystrophy conditions as well as research news.

www.muscular-dystrophy.org - the UK muscular dystrophy site. It contains good general information on the
condition.

NZ also has an excellent website dedicated to helping and informing those families with rare disorders -
www.nzord.org.nz

For Health Care Professionals

The following academic article summarizes an international consensus on best-practice care for the congenital muscular dystrophies. This was published in the Journal of Child Neurology in November 2010 and can be accessed here.

Q&A: Here is where we answer some of our members questions. If you have any questions please email them to [email protected] and we will endeavour to answer them.