Most people only know about muscular dystrophy (MD) from the annual Jerry Lewis Telethon that has been held every year since 1966. While the vast majority of the population may not give the disease much thought after this telethon is over, it's surprising how even patients of MD have very little knowledge of what exactly it is, what parts of the body it affects, and what can be done to treat and accommodate it. <br>Muscular dystrophy is different from diseases such as multiple sclerosis in that it attacks the muscles themselves; this means a lack of muscle protein and the eventual death of muscle cells and tissues. When a patient has multiple sclerosis, their nerves are damaged while their muscles work fine. If the nerves cannot send signals telling the muscles to work, then their limbs and other areas of the body will not function properly. However, with MD the nerves are fine and send all the necessary signals but because the muscles themselves are damaged they will not obey those instructions from the nerves and so mobility is limited. <br>Muscular Dystrophy is a family of disorders characterized by the severe degeneration of muscle tissue. It literally means "faulty nutrition of muscles" and is characterized by the progressive wasting and weakening of healthy muscle tissue and is replaced by useless fat and hard fibrous tissue. The disease is considered largely hereditary. Some researchers believe that muscular dystrophy may be caused by a malfunctioning of the central nerves system and others believe that the disease begins within the walls of the muscle cells itself. <br>Those with muscular dystrophy can also have their actual growth affected. The muscles need to stretch and grow as the bones grow but often they are damaged to the point where they are not growing as the child does. This can cause pain and continued weakness. <br>Interestingly there are many forms of muscle disease that are actually classified as muscular dystrophy. Some affect only children, others affect only certain muscle groups, and others are marked by how quickly they progress. Most affect more than just the muscle groups themselves but may also touch on the heart, eyes, skin, and other organs as well. <br>Treatment for the disease typically includes physical therapy to forcibly relax and stretch the muscles as they are not doing this on their own. Interestingly, being sedentary and inactive, even getting bed rest for prolonged periods of time, typically only make the disease worse. It's important for those with muscular dystrophy to be sure that they are as physically active as they can possibly be and to always have their scheduled physical therapy. <br>Those with muscular dystrophy have different symptoms and various life expectancies as well. Some who develop MD have only mild or moderate inconveniences throughout their life whereas others are severely limited in their mobility and need help with even everyday activities. Most have a normal or average lifespan while the more severe cases may claim the lives of young children. <br> <br>