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Single Gene
Disorders and Disability (SGDD) |
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common form of muscular
dystrophy in children. In the absence of newborn screening, DMD is
usually diagnosed when a child is 3 to 6 years of age. Early signs
include delay in walking, frequent falling, and difficulty getting up
from a sitting or lying position. Muscle deterioration continues to
progress and, around the time they are 12 years of age, children with
DMD become unable to walk. The disease is usually fatal in the teens or
early 20s, most commonly due to severe respiratory or heart problems, or
both. A milder form of the disease is known as Becker muscular dystrophy
(BMD). The combined spectrum of these diseases is referred to as
Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy (DBMD). The gene for DBMD is on the X
chromosome, so DBMD affects males almost exclusively. For more
information about DBMD, see “Causes of Duchenne and Becker Muscular
Dystrophy”.
[Causes of DBMD]
Date: September 1, 2006
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities
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