We told you that we both have muscular dystrophy. I have Limb-Girdle MD (LGMD) and Larry has Childhood Congenital Myotonic MD. Beside the description of life having MD, which I did it in Growing Up section, we want to let you know some general things about what MD means, how many kind of MD exist, how they affect the muscles, when it starts, how does it progress, what can be done for a slower progression of it... Also I will post for you some links to the websites which you can visit for more information. Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a group of disorders characterized by progressive muscle weakness and loss of muscle tissue MD refers to a group of genetic diseases characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of the skeletal or voluntary muscles which control movement. The muscles of the heart and some other involuntary muscles are also affected in some forms of MD, and a few forms involve other organs as well. The major forms of MD include Myotonic, Duchenne, Becker, Limb-Girdle, Facio-Scapulo-Humeral (FSH), Congenital, Oculo-Pharyngeal, Distal and Emery-Dreifuss. Duchenne is the most common form of MD affecting children, and myotonic MD is the most common form affecting adults. MD can affect people of all ages. Although some forms first become apparent in infancy or childhood, others may not appear until middle age or later. Aspects of several forms of muscular dystrophy share symptoms with other disorders of muscle, including disuse and age-related atrophy, which affect even larger population groups. Till now there is no specific treatment for any of the forms of MD. Some opportunities to improve treatment exist in the areas of vector development for gene-based treatments, cell-based treatments registering improvement but they can't say if this improvements are stabile in time. Physical therapy (PT) to prevent contractures (a condition in which shortened muscles around joints cause abnormal and sometimes painful positioning of the joints), the adaptive technologies, orthoses (orthopedic appliances used for support), corrective orthopedic surgery may be needed to improve the quality of life in some cases. The cardiac problems may require a pacemaker. The myotonia (delayed relaxation of a muscle after a strong contraction) occurring in myotonic MD may be treated with medications. The prognosis of MD varies according to the type of MD and the progression of the disorder. Some cases may be mild and very slowly progressive, with normal lifespan, while other cases may have more marked progression of muscle weakness, functional disability and loss of ambulation. There are many programs of research on MD. The goals of these studies are to increase understanding of MD and its causes, develop better therapies, and, finally, find ways to prevent and cure the disorder. If you want to know more about MD you can follow the links: Medical Encyclopedia - Muscular Dystrophy Medical Encyclopedia - LGMD Myotonic Dystrophy

Last update
17.04.2004

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