Duchenne myopathy

Only boys can have this illness, women are asymptomatic carriers of the disease. A new born child appears to be healthy, but by the age of 3-4 his parents begin to notice symptoms of a decrease in muscle strength: he cannot run fast, often falls, is motor awkward, and cannot jump on one leg. Further, the symptoms of muscle weakness progress to such an extent that by the age of 8-12 the boy stops walking. In the future heart damage and respiratory failures progress, death occurs from total muscle weakness. The disease has genetic treatment, but it is not applicable for all types of gene breakdown: it is necessary to determine the nature of the breakdown to determine the possibility of genetic treatment. There is also a basic treatment (non-genetic), applicable to all these patients, but its effectiveness is much lower.

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