By: Alisha Kunz, Julia Rodenberg, Tyler Traisman and Nathan Wegner Goanimate

 Muscular dystrophy is a group of muscle disease that weaken the musculoskeletal and hamper locomotion. Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue.  There are nine major forms of MD. They are Duchenne MD, Becker MD, Limb-Girdle MD, Emery-Dreifuss MD, Distal MD, Congenial MD, Myotonic MD, Oculopharyngeal MD and Facioscapulohumeral MD.

 Duchenne MD is the most common form of childhood dystrophy.  Duchenne MD occurs in 1 in 3,500 boys.  Becker MD, much milder than Duchenne. Affects 1 in 30,000 boys.  Limb-girdle MD appears in teens and young adults and affects both males and females.  Faciospulohumeral MD also appears in teenage and early adult years and affects males and females. Facioscapulohumeral refers to muscles that the face, shoulder blades and upper arm.  Congenital MD is present at birth and can affect males and females.

 Emery-Dreifuss MD is a rare form of MD that appears in childhood to early teens in only males.  Distal MD affects adult men and women and causes in the muscles furthest away from the center.  Myotonic MD, also called Steinert’s Disease, is the most common for of MD in adults.  Oculopharyngeal MD appears in middle aged men and women. Oculopharyngeal means eye throat.

A newborn child will be very similar to other babies, the child can roll over and function as a “normal” child. Once child begins walking, parents may notice difficulty balancing as well as standing. May notice child using gowers to stand “walking up legs” to stand up almost like a tripod.

 Child will begin walking later then most children.  Child will have poor balance  Child will have difficult time walking on stairs  Child will have enlarged calf muscles  Difficulty running and jumping

 Every type of MD is caused by distinct genetic mutations.  MD are usually a group of inherited conditions. They are passed down the family line through genetics.

 Spontaneous mutation in mother’s egg.  Spontaneous mutations can also occur during the development of the embryo

 Incorrect or missing information in the genes that produce dystrophin.

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 Richman, S., & Schub, T. (2011). Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne's  Benaroch, R. (2012, March 12). WebMD Medical Reference  Kaneshiro, N. K. (2010, March 9). Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In Penn medicine health encyclopedia. Retrieved May 9, 2012, from  Muscular dystrophies - an overview (2009, November 24). In Patient.co.uk. Retrieved May 9, 2012, from  Mayo clinic staff,. (2012, January 18). Muscular dystrophy causes. In Mayo clinic. Retrieved May 9, 2012, from dystrophy/DS00200/DSECTION=causes