Muscular Dystrophy (Duchenne)

Inheritance	X-linked recessive
Occurrence	fairly rare
Description	a disease that begins to affect individuals between the ages 2 and 6. It causes muscle wasting and weakness. This can eventually affect all muscles of the body. Generally by age 10-12 affected individuals become confined to a wheelchair.
Gene	a deletion in the X-linked gene coding for dystrophin

Muscle Types

Background:

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a devastating disease with no cure. There are very few treatments. Most treatments deal with ways to keep affected individuals from the necessity of a wheelchair for as long as possible. Dystrophin is a component of muscles and without it the muscles slowly degenerate.

Activity:

There are three kinds of muscle found in the human body-- skeletal, cardiac, and smooth. Introduce the class to these kinds of muscle. Discuss where they are found, what makes them different, and what makes them the same. After the class is familiar with the muscle types and their functions, introduce them to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Explain that individuals afflicted with this condition begin losing their muscle function at about age five or six. Have students hypothesize how muscle loss would affect an individual. (Many people are aware that muscular dystrophy is a loss of function of skeletal muscle but are unaware that in many individuals cardiac and smooth muscle are also affected). Discuss all of the possible ramifications in the body as an individual loses muscle control and/or function.

For more information visit Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man or the Muscular Dystrophy Association

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