Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular Dystrophy
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Muscular Dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy is a type of disorder that causes the progressive loss of muscle mass and causes progressive muscle weakness. According to research, the primary forms of this disease is known to affect one in every five thousand males. It is caused by genetic mutation which interferes with the creation and production of the protein responsible for the building and maintenance of healthy muscles (Dystrophin protein). It is usually hereditary and may thus run within a family (Tidy, 2016). Moreover, it is known to have no cure, but has treatments that slow the progression and alleviate the symptoms.
Early symptoms
Some of its early symptoms and indicators include; frequent falls, especially in children, walking on toes, learning disabilities for example late speech development, jumping and walking difficulties, a waddling gait, difficulty in standing and sitting and finally, stiffness and pain in the muscles. However, as time progresses, inability to walk and difficulty swallowing can become more likely. Moreover, due to the weakening of the heart and lung muscles, breathing and cardiac problems become apparent (Newman, 2017). The Curvature of the spine can also be caused because of the weakening of the skeletal muscles that support its structure.
Diagnosis
There are different techniques used in the diagnosis of muscular dystrophy. They include; genetic testing, enzyme assay, lung monitoring, heart monitoring, biopsy, and electromyography.

Genetic testing
Since muscular dystrophy is as a result of genetic mutations, genetic tests can be undertaken to screen for changes in the dystrophin gene.

Enzyme assay
Creatine kinase is an enzyme produced by damaged muscles. A rise in the levels of Creatine Kinase without any types of muscle damage can be a good indicator of muscular dystrophy (Newman, 2017).
Lung monitoring
Checking for proper lung function gives additional proof to the possible absence or existence of muscular dystrophy.
Heart monitoring
The use of echocardiograms and electrocardiography can be used to obtain changes in the heart muscles, especially in myotonic muscular dystrophy.
Biopsy
This entails removing portions of muscles and examining it under a microscope. The microscope will be able to highlight the changes in the regular structure of the muscle and thus can form a basis for muscular dystrophy diagnosis.
Electromyography
In this form of diagnosis, a needle is inserted into a muscle, and the electrical activity of the muscle is measured. Abnormal muscle electrical activity is an indicator of an underlying muscular disorder or disease and thus a possible diagnosis of muscular dystrophy (Newman, 2017).
References
Newman, T. (2017). All about muscular dystrophy. Medical News Today. Retrieved 8 February 2018, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/187618.php
Tidy, Colin. (2016).  Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Patient.info. Retrieved 8 February 2018, from https://patient.info/doctor/duchenne-muscular-dystrophy-pro