muscular dystrophy
...alls, weakness in legs, and mild mental retardation. Becker's muscular dystrophy - Similar to Duchenne, but symtoms start later and less severe Myotonic dystrophy - This produces stiffness of muscles and inability to relax them. This form progresses slow. Groups of muscles it affects are the muscles that control your arms and legs, neck, face, breathing and swallowing muscles. Fainting and dizziness are commmon. The eyes can become cloudy and you may form mild diabetes. Limb Girdle muscular dystrophy - Muscles affected are the hips and shoulders. Spread of it is slow. Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy - Muscle weakness usually in the order of face, shoulders, abdomen, feet, upper arms, pelvic area and lower arms. Congenital dystrophy - Signs of this are muscle weakness and joint deformities. It shows at birth and progresses as the person ages. There is also a more severe form called Fukuyama that affects the brain with speech problems and seizures. Oculopharyngeal dystrophy - Associated with drooping eyelids, weak eyes, face and throat muscles that leads to difficulty swallowing making it easy to choke. Treatment There is no cure for any of the forms of muscular dystrophy. Currently, researchers are coming up with new treatments that are made to help prevent or limit the symptoms and let people with MD stay active and mobile as long as possible. Physical therapy is designed to flex the muscles in a range of motion to keep them movable. Surgery is used to release the muscles from a cramped state in an attempt to make them more flexable. Also they operate on the spine to try to correct it to the natrual curve. Medications can be used but are limited to myotonic and duchenne's dystrophy. They improve muscles s...