Muscular Dystrophy

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

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• Living With
• Specifics
• Genetics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a group of more than 30 inherited diseases. They all cause muscle weakness and muscle loss. Some forms of MD appear in infancy or childhood. Others may not appear until middle age or later. The different types can vary in whom they affect, which muscles they affect, and what the symptoms are. All forms of MD grow worse as the person's muscles get weaker. Most people with MD eventually lose the ability to walk.

There is no cure for muscular dystrophy. Treatments can help with the symptoms and prevent complications. They include physical and speech therapy, orthopedic devices, surgery, and medications. Some people with MD have mild cases that worsen slowly. Others cases are disabling and severe.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Start Here

• Muscular Dystrophy (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Muscular Dystrophy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Muscular Dystrophy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Muscular Dystrophy (MD) (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Muscular Dystrophy: Hope Through Research (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Creatine Kinase (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Electromyography (EMG) and Nerve Conduction Studies (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• How Is Muscular Dystrophy (MD) Diagnosed? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Signs and Symptoms of Duchenne (Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy Research)

Treatments and Therapies

• Medications and Supplements (Other Than Steroids) (Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy Research)
• What Are the Treatments for Muscular Dystrophy (MD)? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Daily Living Resources (Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy Research)
• Learning and Behavior (Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy Research)
• Muscular Dystrophy: Other FAQs (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Physical Therapy for Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) (FacioScapuloHumeral Muscular Dystrophy Society) - PDF

Specifics

• Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD) (Muscular Dystrophy Association)
• Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (Muscular Dystrophy Association) - PDF
• Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD) (Muscular Dystrophy Association)
• Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy (Muscular Dystrophy Association)
• What Are the Types and Symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy (MD)? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• CAV3-related distal myopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Distal myopathy 2: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Laing distal myopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• LAMA2-related muscular dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Learning about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (National Human Genome Research Institute)
• Learning about Myotonic Dystrophy (National Human Genome Research Institute)
• Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Myofibrillar myopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Myotonic dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Rigid spine muscular dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Tibial muscular dystrophy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Statistics and Research

• Muscular Dystrophy Data and Statistics: Highlights from MD STARnet (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Muscular Dystrophies (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: P2 Receptor Signaling in Motor Units in Muscular Dystrophy.
• Article: LMNA Co-Regulated Gene Expression as a Suitable Readout after Precise Gene...
• Article: Golgi Complex form and Function: A Potential Hub Role Also in...
• Muscular Dystrophy -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish

Children

• Diagnosis of Duchenne (Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy Research) - PDF
• Everybody's Different Nobody's Perfect (Muscular Dystrophy Association) - PDF - In English and Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Becker muscular dystrophy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Creatine phosphokinase test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Muscular dystrophy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish