Preethi Veeragandham5/21/14Biology with ResearchMrs. Alternate Assignment at KaehmsDissection LabDuchenne Muscular DystrophyDuchenne muscular dystrophy, also known as DMD, is the most common form of muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy is an inherited condition, and is when muscles slowly become weaker and weaker. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a very rapid form of muscular dystrophy and is most commonly found in boys. In muscles there is a protein called dystrophin. Dystrophin is encoded by the DMD gene. When boys have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, they don't produce enough dystrophin in their muscles. This causes weakness in their muscles. Parents can tell if their child has Duchenne muscular dystrophy by looking for various symptoms. Symptoms can appear at any age, normally between infancy and six years. Normally, the first symptom of Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a delay in milestones that normal children have. For example, there may be a delay in the time a child with DMD learns to walk, sit, or stand on his or her own. Babies without Duchenne muscular dystrophy normally begin to learn to walk around nine to twelve months and can walk well around fourteen to fifteen months. Parents and doctors start to worry after sixteen to seventeen months. However, the average age at which a child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy begins to walk is eighteen months. A progressive weakening and wasting occurs in the muscles of the legs and pelvis. Mild weakness is also found in the neck, arms, and other muscles of the upper body, but the weakness is worse in the lower half of the body. Muscles weaken because enlarged muscle tissue is replaced by connective tissue and fat. The muscle fibers then shorten due to the r...... center of paper ...... chromosome and the disease/disorder is transmitted in an X-linked recessive manner. Symptoms include muscle weakness and wasting, and pain in the lower body. In most cases only the muscles of the lower body are affected, resulting in the child being confined to a wheelchair. The best way to diagnose Duchenne muscular dystrophy is to do a muscle biopsy to check for abnormal levels of dystrophin. There is no treatment for the disease/disorder itself, only for its symptoms. The average age of death in males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is around thirty. Most deaths are caused by respiratory complications or heart problems such as cardiomyopathy. Duchenne muscular dystrophy affects on average one in thirty-five hundred male births worldwide. Overall, Duchenne muscular dystrophy is very difficult to live with and affects many kids around the world.