Becker muscular dystrophy is an inherited disorder that involves slowly worsening muscle weakness of the legs and pelvis.
Alternative NamesBenign pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy; Becker's dystrophy
Causes, incidence, and risk factorsBecker muscular dystrophy is very similar to Duchenne muscular dystrophy, except that it gets worse at a much slower rate.
The disorder is passed down through families (inherited). Having a family history of the condition raises your risk.
Becker muscular dystrophy occurs in approximately 3 - 6 out of every 100,000 males. It is less common than Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
SymptomsFemales rarely develop symptoms. Males will develop symptoms if they inherit the defective gene. Symptoms usually appear in boys at about age 12, but may begin later.
Muscle weakness of the lower body, including the legs and pelvis area, slowly gets worse, causing:
Muscle weakness in the arms, neck, and other areas is not as severe as in the lower body.
Other symptoms may include:
The health care provider will do a nervous system (neurological) and muscle examination. A careful medical history is also important, because the pattern of symptom development resembles that of Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. However, Becker muscular dystrophy gets worse much more slowly.
An exam may find:
Tests that may be done include:
There is no known cure for Becker muscular dystrophy. The goal of treatment is to control symptoms to maximize the person's quality of life. Some doctors prescribe steroids to help keep a patient walking for as long as possible.
Activity is encouraged. Inactivity (such as bed rest) can make the muscle disease worse. Physical therapy may be helpful to maintain muscle strength. Orthopedic appliances such as braces and wheelchairs may improve mobility and self-care.
Genetic counseling may be recommended. Daughters of a man with Becker muscular dystrophy may carry the defective gene and could pass it onto their sons.
Support GroupsYou can ease the stress of illness by joining a support group where members share common experiences and problems.
See: Muscular dystrophy - support group
Expectations (prognosis)Becker muscular dystrophy leads to slowly worsening disability, although the degree of disability varies. Some men may need a wheelchair, while others may only need to use walking aids such as canes or braces.
ComplicationsCall your health care provider if:
Genetic counseling may be advised if there is a family history of Becker muscular dystrophy.
ReferencesKliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF. Muscular dystrophies. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 608.
Becker muscular dystrophy is an inherited disorder that involves slowly worsening muscle weakness of the legs and pelvis.
Alternative NamesBenign pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy; Becker's dystrophy
Causes, incidence, and risk factorsBecker muscular dystrophy is very similar to Duchenne muscular dystrophy, except that it gets worse at a much slower rate.
The disorder is passed down through families (inherited). Having a family history of the condition raises your risk.
Becker muscular dystrophy occurs in approximately 3 - 6 out of every 100,000 males. It is less common than Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
SymptomsFemales rarely develop symptoms. Males will develop symptoms if they inherit the defective gene. Symptoms usually appear in boys at about age 12, but may begin later.
Muscle weakness of the lower body, including the legs and pelvis area, slowly gets worse, causing:
Muscle weakness in the arms, neck, and other areas is not as severe as in the lower body.
Other symptoms may include:
The health care provider will do a nervous system (neurological) and muscle examination. A careful medical history is also important, because the pattern of symptom development resembles that of Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. However, Becker muscular dystrophy gets worse much more slowly.
An exam may find:
Tests that may be done include:
There is no known cure for Becker muscular dystrophy. The goal of treatment is to control symptoms to maximize the person's quality of life. Some doctors prescribe steroids to help keep a patient walking for as long as possible.
Activity is encouraged. Inactivity (such as bed rest) can make the muscle disease worse. Physical therapy may be helpful to maintain muscle strength. Orthopedic appliances such as braces and wheelchairs may improve mobility and self-care.
Genetic counseling may be recommended. Daughters of a man with Becker muscular dystrophy may carry the defective gene and could pass it onto their sons.
Support GroupsYou can ease the stress of illness by joining a support group where members share common experiences and problems.
See: Muscular dystrophy - support group
Expectations (prognosis)Becker muscular dystrophy leads to slowly worsening disability, although the degree of disability varies. Some men may need a wheelchair, while others may only need to use walking aids such as canes or braces.
ComplicationsCall your health care provider if:
Genetic counseling may be advised if there is a family history of Becker muscular dystrophy.
ReferencesKliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF. Muscular dystrophies. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 608.
Reviewed ByReview Date: 03/09/2010
Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
Muscular dystrophy can appear in infancy up to middle age or later, and its form and severity are determined in part by the age at which it occurs. Some types of muscular dystrophy affect only males; some people with MD enjoy a normal life span with mild symptoms that progress very slowly; others experience swift and severe muscle weakness and wasting, dying in their late teens to early 20s.
Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy,Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, Dermatomyositis,Compartment Syndrome,Myasthenia Gravis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Mitochondrial Myopathies,Rhabdomyolysis,Polymyositis,Fibromyalgia,Myotonia,Myofascial Pain Syndrome and etc.
1. Cystic Fibrosis 2. Huntington's Disease 3. Down Syndrome 4. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy 5. Sickle Cell Anemia 6. Celiac Disease 7. Becker Muscular Dystrophy 8. Noonan Syndrome 9. Thalassemias 10. Bloom's Syndrome
Peter Emil Becker has written: 'Dystrophia musculorum progressiva' -- subject(s): Cases, clinical reports, statistics, Genetic aspects, Genetic aspects of Muscular dystrophy, Muscular dystrophy 'Wege ins Dritte Reich' -- subject(s): Antisemitism, Eugenics, History, National socialism, Race relations, Racism 'Humangenetik' -- subject(s): Human genetics 'Myotonia congenita and syndromes associated with myotonia'
In Becker dystrophy, there is a less-active form of dystrophin (a protein) disrupting the gateway regulator, allowing some leakage of intracellular substances, leading to the myopathy.
usually appear in late childhood to early adulthood. Though the progression of symptoms may parallel that of DMD, the symptoms are usually milder and the course more variable
Prevalence of MD is higher in males. In the United States, Duchenne and Becker MD occur in approximately one in 3,300 boys. Overall incidence of MD is about 63 per one million people.
In the 1860s, descriptions of boys who grew progressively weaker, lost the ability to walk, and died at an early age became more prominent in medical journals. In the following ten years, French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne gave a comprehensive account of 13 boys with the most common and severe form of the disease (which now carries his name - Duchenne muscular dystrophy). It soon became evident that the disease had more than one form, and that these diseases affected males of all ages. Nine diseases including Duchenne, Becker, limb girdle, congenital, facioscapulohumeral, myotonic, oculopharyngeal, distal, and Emery-Dreifuss are always classified as muscular dystrophy.
Heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy ), occurs more commonly in BMD. Problems may include irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias ) and congestive heart failure. Symptoms may include fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, and dizziness
Persons with Becker MD may live until middle age.
a dystrophinopathy, is normally associated with both Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies. Dystrophinopathy literally means "abnormal development disease" generally related to muscular development in pediatrics.
The short answer is yes, absolutely. You may be primarily thinking of sex-linked dystrophies, such as Duchenne's or Becker's Muscular Dystrophy. The gene mutations for these types of dystrophy are recessive traits located on the X chromosome. It is vastly more common in boys then in girls because boys only have one X chromosome. If they get the gene for these dystrophies on their mom's X chromosome, then they will not have another X chromosome to "mask" the trait, and thus they will get the disease. Since girls have two X chromosomes, this is a lot rarer. Even if one X chromosome has the gene for the disease, as long as the other one doesn't, they are only a carrier, they don't actually have symptoms. There are only two ways where a girl can get a sex-linked dystrophy: if her mom is a carrier and her dad has the disease, or if her X chromosomes mutate in a way that make her have the gene on both X chromosomes. However: Muscular dystrophies come in dozens of types. Sex linked varieties may be among the most common, but there are plenty out there that are autosomal (i.e.: not sex-linked). Some come from autosomal recessive genes, other come from spontaneous mutations. For those types of muscular dystrophy, girls are just as likely to get them as boys.