Who is likely to develop muscular dystrophy?
Duchenne dystrophy is the most common type of muscular dystrophy in childhood. It occurs in approximately 1 out of 3,500 male births. About one third of the males born with Duchenne dystrophy have a spontaneous mutation that accounts for the disorder rather than inheriting it through the X chromosome. A daughter born to a male with Duchenne dystrophy will have a fifty percent chance of carrying the affected gene. The mothers of affected children, who also have a family history of Duchenne dystrophy, are carriers of the mutated gene. The mother and sisters of a patient who has a spontaneous gene mutation leading to Duchenne dystrophy are not at risk for being carriers. What are the symptoms of muscular dystrophy? All types of muscular dystrophy are characterized by a progressive weakness of skeletal muscles. The rate of progression and the distribution of the weakness vary between the types of muscular dystrophy. In Duchenne muscular dystrophy, early gross motor skills in the affected m
