Skeletal and Muscular. Brittni Parrish.

Osteoporosis. What is it? Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones over time become fragile and are more prone to breaking.

The only sign or symptom of osteoporosis is the breaking Signs and Symptoms. The only sign or symptom of osteoporosis is the breaking of a bone.

Causes. Our bodies build new bone and remove old bone. In childhood, more bone is built than removed. After age 30 or 40, the cells that build new bone don’t keep up with the ones that remove bone. The total amount of bone then decreases, and osteoporosis may develop as a result.

Treatment. Fortunately osteoporosis is treatable. Common treatments are just lifestyle changes. Quit smoking, cut down alcohol intake, exercise, a lot of calcium, and vitamin d. Medications that prevent bone loss are also ways to treat it.

No Treatment. If there’s no treatment or prevention, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. The spine, hip, and wrist are more likely to break. Any bone can be affected, but of special concern are fractures of the hip and spine. A hip fracture almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery. It can impair someone to where they can’t walk unassisted. Spinal or vertebral fractures also have serious consequences, including loss of height, severe back pain, and deformity.

Side Effects. Thoracic spine can be a victim of compression fractures. Abdominal distention: Swelling of your stomach. Your lower ribs will rest on iliac crests.

Review. Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and more prone to breaking. Prevent it by eating healthy, exercise, and stop smoking. Also eat lost of calcium and vitamin d.

Muscular Dystrophy. What Is Muscular Dystrophy? Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a genetic disorder that weakens the muscles that help the body move. People have incorrect or missing information in their genes, that prevents them from making the proteins they need for healthy muscles. Because MD is genetic, people are born with the problem; it's not contagious and you can't catch it from someone who has it.

Causes. Muscular Dystrophy is an inherited disease with a defective gene so there isn’t one certain cause. Each one is cause by a genetic mutation and from deficiency of the muscular protein dystrophin. MD weakens muscles over time, so children, teens, and adults who have the disease can gradually lose the ability to do the things, like walking or sitting up. Someone with MD might start having muscle problems as a baby or their symptoms might start later. Some people even develop MD as adults.

X-linked recessive inheritance pattern with carrier mother Women can pass down X-linked recessive disorders such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. A woman who is a carrier of an X-linked recessive disorder has a 25 percent chance of having an unaffected son, a 25 percent chance of having an affected son, a 25 percent chance of having an unaffected daughter and a 25 percent chance of having a daughter who also is a carrier.

Autosomal dominant inheritance pattern In an autosomal dominant disorder, the mutated gene is a dominant gene located on one of the nonsex chromosomes (autosomes). You only need one mutated gene to be affected by this type of disorder. A person with an autosomal dominant disorder — in this case, the father — has a 50 percent chance of having an affected child with one mutated gene (dominant gene) and a 50 percent chance of having an unaffected child with two normal genes (recessive genes).

Types. Duchenne (due-shen) muscular dystrophy Emery-Dreifuss (em-uh-ree dry-fuss) muscular dystrophy Becker muscular dystrophy Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy Facioscapulohumeral (fa-she-o-skap-you-lo-hyoo-meh-rul) muscular dystrophy Myotonic (my-uh-tah-nick) dystrophy Congenital muscular dystrophy

Cure. Unfortunately there is no cure for MD, but doctors and scientists are working to find one. Some scientists are trying to fix the defective genes that lead to MD so they will make the right proteins. Others are trying to make chemicals that will act like these proteins in the body. They hope that this will help the muscles to work properly in people with MD. Doctors are also trying to finding the best ways to treat the symptoms of MD so that kids, teens, and adults with the disease can live as comfortably as possible.

What Can Help. Teens with MD can do some things to help their muscles. Certain exercises and physical therapy can help them avoid contractures (a stiffening of the muscles near the joints that can make it harder to move and can lock the joints in painful positions). Often, teens are fitted with special braces to ensure flexible joints and tendons (the strong, rubber band-like tissues that attach muscles to bones). Surgery is sometimes used to reduce pain and increase movement from contractures. Because we rely on certain muscles to breathe, some teens with MD need respiratory aids, such as a ventilator, to help them breathe. Teens with MD also might need to be treated for problems like scoliosis, which can be caused by weakened muscles or muscles that are contracting or pulling too tightly.

Review. Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder that weakens the muscles that help the body move. There is no cure for it yet but doctors are still working. You can lose the ability to do certain things like sitting up or even walking.

Bibliography. Clark, Alisa. "Muscular Dystrophy." (2007) 5 Feb 2009 <http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/bones/muscular_dystrophy.html>. "Osteoporosis: A debilitating disease that can be prevented and treated.." Osteoporosis. (2008). National Osteoporosis Foundation. 5 Feb 2009 <http://www.nof.org/osteoporosis/index.htm>. Shiel, William. "Osteoporosis." Osteoporosis (2009) 5 Feb 2009 <http://www.medicinenet.com/osteoporosis/article.htm>.