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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. 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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