| | What causes muscular dystrophy?
The primary cause is the genetic defect. In the Duchenne and Becker types, the defect is in the gene which enables the muscle fibres to make dystrophin. The muscle fibres in Duchenne and Becker dystrophies are deficient in dystrophin, more severely so in the Duchenne type than in the Becker type.
Abnormal genes responsible for Myotonic Dystrophy and many cases of Facioscapulohumeral MD have also been identified and the mechanisms by which the abnormal genes cause muscle weakness are beginning to be understood. Work is ongoing to try to cover the genetic basis of the other MD's.
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