Muscle Research Paper

Muscles are essential for life. There are three types of muscles. Cardiac, smooth, and skeletal. Four key characteristics for muscles are excitability, contractility, extensibility and elasticity. Excitability pertains to a muscles’ ability to respond to stimuli. This is important for external and internal changes in the body. Contractility is the ability to shorten when sufficiently stimulated. Extensibility is the capability to stretch or extend. When being contracted, muscle cells shorten; but they can be stretched even more when relaxed. Elasticity allows muscles cells to recoil and resume its resting length after being stretched out. These characteristics aid to permit movement, the up-keeping of stance and positions, stabilization of

This group of diseases is caused by mutations that hinder the production of the proteins needed to create healthy muscles. Muscular dystrophy affects the muscles of the hip, pelvic area, thighs, shoulders and the heart (mda.org). There are different types of muscular dystrophy, all with different levels of severity. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is the most common form of muscle dystrophy; accounting for more than fifty percent of all cases (nichd.nih.gov). It is prevalent in children; typically boys, age ranging from three to five. DMD is caused by a lack of the protein dystrophin. This protein helps to support and shield the muscle cells from injury (Darras). One will start to develop weakness in the upper legs and the pelvis. People with DMD usually fall a lot, have a hard time doing physical activity, have trouble rising for sitting or lying down, wobble when walking and have large calf muscles due to the accumulation of fat. The majority if DMD patients are incapable of walking by age twelve. They end up needing a respirator to aid with breathing. Most patients die in their teens or early twenties. Symptoms that caused their deaths are reported to be heart problems, infection and respiratory complications

It can progress either quickly or slowly. It is also triggered by a lack of dystrophin. Symptoms of BMD are related to those symptoms found in DMD. People with Becker muscular dystrophy may walk on the tip of their toes, have regular muscle cramps, fall down a lot and may have a hard time getting up from the floor. Symptoms are usually found in males, age eleven to twenty-five. Some patients with BMD end up being confined to a wheelchair in their teens or their middle life. Others do not have such severe symptoms (nichd.nih.gov). Progressive muscles weakening affects more than just mobility. Breathing can be affected, especially during the night time. The weakened muscles may also cause curvature in the spine. Heart muscles are sad to have been weakened in certain cases, lowering the hearts’ effectiveness. Feeding tubes may have to be used if one’s swallowing is affected. Nutritional issues and aspiration pneumonia are possible problems that may evolve