Myotonic Dystrophy

Introduction: Myotonic Dystrophy

Myotonic Dystrophy: Myotonic dystrophy is an inherited disorder in which the muscles contract but have decreasing power to relax. With this condition, the muscles also become weak ... more about Myotonic Dystrophy.

Myotonic Dystrophy: An inherited disorder characterized by progressive muscle weakness and wasting as well as eye defects, heart abnormalities and other anomalies. The severity of the condition is greatly variable. There are two type of myotonic dystrophy with type 1 being more severe than type 2. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Myotonic Dystrophy is available below.

Symptoms of Myotonic Dystrophy

• Muscle stiffness
• Muscle hypertrophy
• Progressive muscle wasting
• Progressive muscle weakness
• Prolonged muscle tensing

See full list of 20 symptoms of Myotonic Dystrophy

Wrongly Diagnosed with Myotonic Dystrophy?

• Underlying causes of Myotonic Dystrophy (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

Causes of Myotonic Dystrophy

Read more about causes of Myotonic Dystrophy.

More information about causes of Myotonic Dystrophy:

• Myotonic Dystrophy as a symptom

Treatments for Myotonic Dystrophy

• No treatment - not all cases require treatment
• Quinine
• Phenytoin
• Anticonvulsant drugs
• Physical therapy

Read more about treatments for Myotonic Dystrophy

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Patient Surveys for Myotonic Dystrophy

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Prognosis for Myotonic Dystrophy

Prognosis for Myotonic Dystrophy: non-progressive condition which may improve with age

More about prognosis of Myotonic Dystrophy

Reseach about Myotonic Dystrophy

Visit our research pages for current research about Myotonic Dystrophy treatments.

Clinical Trials for Myotonic Dystrophy

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Myotonic Dystrophy include:

• Characteristics of Nondystrophic Myotonias - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Efficacy and Safety of DHEA for Myotonic Dystrophy - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - dehydroepiandrosterone 100 and 400 mg
• Myotonic Dystrophy and Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy Registry - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• RAMYD Study - Evaluation of Arrhythmic Risk in Myotonic Dystrophy - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Effects of SomatoKine (rhIGF-I/rhIGFBP-3) in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - SomatoKine

See full list of 6 Clinical Trials for Myotonic Dystrophy

Statistics for Myotonic Dystrophy

• Medical statistics for Myotonic Dystrophy
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Myotonic Dystrophy
• Death and Mortality statistics for Myotonic Dystrophy
• Society statistics for Myotonic Dystrophy

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Article Excerpts about Myotonic Dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy is an inherited disorder in which the muscles contract but have decreasing power to relax. With this condition, the muscles also become weak and waste away. (Source: Genes and Disease by the National Center for Biotechnology)

Definitions of Myotonic Dystrophy:

An autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorder which usually presents in early adulthood, characterized by progressive muscular atrophy (most frequently involving the hands, forearms, and face), myotonia, frontal baldness, lenticular opacities, and testicular atrophy. Cardiac conduction abnormalities, diaphragmatic weakness, and mild mental retardation may also occur. Congenital myotonic dystrophy is a severe form of this disorder, characterized by neonatal MUSCLE HYPOTONIA, feeding difficulties, respiratory muscle weakness, and an increased incidence of MENTAL RETARDATION. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp1423-5; Joynt, Clinical Neurology, 1997, Ch16, pp16-7) - (Source - Diseases Database)

A severe form of muscular dystrophy marked by generalized weakness and muscular wasting that affects the face and feet and hands and neck; difficult speech and difficulty with the hands that spreads to the arms and shoulders and legs and hips; the onset can be any time from birth to middle age and the progression is slow; inheritance is autosomal dominant - (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Myotonic Dystrophy is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Myotonic Dystrophy, or a subtype of Myotonic Dystrophy, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Myotonic Dystrophy as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet