Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy - Overview
Alternative Names
Landouzy-Dejerine muscular dystrophy
Definition of Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy:
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is progressive muscle weakness and loss of muscle tissue.
See also: Muscular dystrophy
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy affects the upper body, unlike Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Becker muscular dystrophy, which affect the lower body.
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder. It appears in both men and women and may develop in a child if either parent carries the gene for the disorder.
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy affects approximately 5 out of 100,000 people. It affects men and women equally.
- Reviewed last on: 4/7/2008
- A.D.A.M. Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Greg Juhn, MTPW, David R. Eltz, Kelli A. Stacy, ELS. Previously reviewed by Brian Kirmse, MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Human Genetics, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network (5/16/2007).
References
Muscular Dystrophies. Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. St. Louis, MO: WB Saunders; 2007;chap 608.
