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Salil Shah Jack Southerland Cover Page 1 Table of Contents 2 Out Line 3 Introduction 4 The Disease 4 How It Is Passed 5 Treatment 6 Types 7 Search For A Cure 8 Living With The Disease 11 Conclusion 11 References 12 Appendix 13 Out Line I Muscular Dystrophy A) Intro B) The Disease C) How it is passed D) Treatment E) Types F) Search for a cure G) Living with the disease H) Conclusion Muscular Dystrophy: The Silent Killer INTRODUCTION Muscular dystrophy is an awful disorder that claims the lives of many, and paralyzes even more. This disorder is considered by many, as one of the worst, simply because of the slow and agonizing loss. Even though many have the disease, most can lead to some form of a normal life, and stay healthy and fit for as long as those without it. THE DISEASE Muscular dystrophy is the term used to describe a primary group of inherited disorders, which includes at least nine other related disorders; all nine types kill voluntary muscle groups. There are over five hundred muscles in the human body that control every action you do, from breathing to walking. There are two basic types of muscles: voluntary and involuntary. Involuntary muscles work without you needing to think about them. Voluntary muscles are the muscles that you have control over. They are also called skeletal muscles, and are connected to bones that help you move. In muscular dystrophy, only the voluntary muscles are affected. The effects of the disease are usually not immediate; it happens over the course of many years, but sometimes only a few. Eventually the muscles become so weak and flat that the person will have limited use of it. Some cases of muscular dystrophy only affect the legs, some the face, while others affect the arms. In some rare cases, it may eventually spread to every muscle in the body. Rarely does the disease become so intense that it spreads to involuntary muscles, where it can affect the heart and lungs. Muscular dystrophy affects an estimated population of over two hundred and fifty thousand Americans. Sadly, the disease has no cure. People diagnosed with the disease have no chance of ever getting better. Everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs and even writing become difficult. Muscular dystrophy is not a painful disease. Most people do not know they have it until muscle weakness sets in. The first signs of it usually appear in one part of the body, and develop from there. For some children it could take over ten years to actually see the first signs of the disease. HOW IT IS PASSED Muscular dystrophy is not a contagious disease like the flu or the cold. There is absolutely no way you can get it just by being around someone who does. It is a genetic disease, affecting only people who have a history of it in their family. Muscular dystrophy is passed by genes, which are the elements that control hereditary traits. Genes serve as our bodies blueprint, telling the body to develop and grow. They also determine our hair and eye color, and our sex. If a gene becomes damaged they will no longer perform in their normal pattern, like the genes that cause muscular dystrophy. Most Genetic diseases are passed on by one of three ways: dominant genes, recessive genes, or X linked genes. For every gene that a person inherits from their father, a matching gene is inherited from the mother. Those inherited genes determine the traits of a person. Say you inherit a green eye gene from your father and a brown eye gene from mother; it is more likely that you will have brown eyes, the dominant gene, rather than the green eyes, the recessive gene. Diseases that are inherited through the recessive gene often have the ability to hide in persons carrying it. Recessive genes can catch the family off guard because of the generation skip.
Approximate Word count = 2615
Approximate Pages = 10.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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