How do gene defects cause different forms of muscular dystrophy?
There are probably about 3,000 muscle proteins, and the recipe for each is contained in a separate gene. Some muscle proteins are part of the structure of muscle fibers, while others influence chemical reactions in the fibers. The precise defect in a muscle protein gene can influence the nature and severity of a muscle disease. For example, some defects in the gene for dystrophin cause the severe, progressive muscle wasting known as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, while other defects in the same gene cause the less severe dystrophy, Becker. Many different defects in a particular gene can occur, and, of course, defects can occur in many different genes. How are muscular dystrophies inherited? All genes are inherited, half coming from a child’s mother, the other half from the father. Flaws in genes can be inherited along with the parents’ genes, although they can also occur for the first time in a child. Scientists use the term spontaneous mutation when this happens. Doctors use the term fa
