Muscular Dystrophies

Overview

Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a group of muscle diseases that weaken the musculoskeletal system and affect a persons ability to walk. These are genetic conditions and can be inherited or an individual may be the first one in their family affected.

Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue. There are several defined types of MD which are diagnosed based on the specific presentation of muscle weakness, these can now generally be confirmed by gene tests for the specific genetic fault where an error in a gene is what is causing the pattern of weakness.

The diagram below highlights some of the key muscle groups affected in different types of MD. For more information on each type please select from the menu on the lefthand side.

Image sourced from Patient.