What increases my risk for Duchenne muscular dystrophy?
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Since Duchenne muscular dystrophy is inherited, your risk is increased by certain genetic factors. Males are much more commonly affected than females, so being a male increases your risk. In most cases, Duchenne muscular dystrophy is passed down through the X-chromosome from mother to son. The family member does not have to have the disorder in order to put you at risk-if they are simply carriers, meaning one of their genes has the mutation, you may be at risk. Sometimes the disease may skip a generation, so if you have any family members with the disorder, you may be at an increased risk.
Since Duchenne muscular dystrophy is inherited, your risk is increased by certain genetic factors. Males are much more commonly affected than females, so being a male increases your risk. In most cases, Duchenne muscular dystrophy is passed... More -
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a recessive inherited genetic condition. Normal individuals have two copies of most genes (one inherited from the father and one from the mother). In a recessive genetic disorder, both copies of a certain gene need to be defective for the condition to manifest itself. It has been shown that mutations in the dystrophin gene, which is located on the X chromosome, may cause DMD.
Females have two copies of the X chromosome, but males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. Males inherit an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the father, so a male can only inherit the dystrophin gene from the mother. Therefore, a female needs to inherit two mutant copies of dystrophin to develop DMD (one from each parent), whereas a male only needs to inherit one mutant copy of dystrophin to develop the condition.
Because females need to inherit two mutant copies of dystrophin to develop the condition, whereas males only need to inherit one mutant copy, DMD is more common in males than females. An estimated one out of 10,000 people is affected with DMD, whereas one out of 3,500 males is affected with the disease. Females who inherit only one mutant copy of dystrophin are called "carriers." Females who are carriers may exhibit some mild symptoms.
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Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a recessive inherited genetic condition. Normal individuals have two copies of most genes (one inherited from the father and one from the mother). In a recessive genetic disorder, both copies of a certain gene... More
