MedGen

The dystrophinopathies cover a spectrum of X-linked muscle disease ranging from mild to severe that includes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Becker muscular dystrophy, and DMD-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The mild end of the spectrum includes the phenotypes of asymptomatic increase in serum concentration of creatine phosphokinase (CK) and muscle cramps with myoglobinuria. The severe end of the spectrum includes progressive muscle diseases that are classified as Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy when skeletal muscle is primarily affected and as DMD-associated DCM when the heart is primarily affected. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) usually presents in early childhood with delayed motor milestones including delays in walking independently and standing up from a supine position. Proximal weakness causes a waddling gait and difficulty climbing stairs, running, jumping, and standing up from a squatting position. DMD is rapidly progressive, with affected children being wheelchair dependent by age 12 years. Cardiomyopathy occurs in almost all individuals with DMD after age 18 years. Few survive beyond the third decade, with respiratory complications and progressive cardiomyopathy being common causes of death. Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) is characterized by later-onset skeletal muscle weakness. With improved diagnostic techniques, it has been recognized that the mild end of the spectrum includes men with onset of symptoms after age 30 years who remain ambulatory even into their 60s. Despite the milder skeletal muscle involvement, heart failure from DCM is a common cause of morbidity and the most common cause of death in BMD. Mean age of death is in the mid-40s. DMD-associated DCM is characterized by left ventricular dilation and congestive heart failure. Females heterozygous for a DMD pathogenic variant are at increased risk for DCM. [from GeneReviews]

Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a gradually progressive neuromuscular disorder in which degeneration of lower motor neurons results in muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, and fasciculations. SBMA occurs only in males. Affected individuals often show gynecomastia, testicular atrophy, and reduced fertility as a result of mild androgen insensitivity. [from GeneReviews]

Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy (FCMD) is characterized by hypotonia, symmetric generalized muscle weakness, and CNS migration disturbances that result in changes consistent with cobblestone lissencephaly with cerebral and cerebellar cortical dysplasia. Mild, typical, and severe phenotypes are recognized. Onset typically occurs in early infancy with poor suck, weak cry, and floppiness. Affected individuals have contractures of the hips, knees, and interphalangeal joints. Later features include myopathic facial appearance, pseudohypertrophy of the calves and forearms, motor and speech delays, intellectual disability, seizures, ophthalmologic abnormalities including visual impairment and retinal dysplasia, and progressive cardiac involvement after age ten years. Swallowing disturbance occurs in individuals with severe FCMD and in individuals older than age ten years, leading to recurrent aspiration pneumonia and death. [from GeneReviews]

Autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy-3 (LGMDR3) affects mainly the proximal muscles and results in difficulty walking. Most individuals have onset in childhood; the disorder is progressive. Other features may include scapular winging, calf pseudohypertrophy, and contractures. Cardiomyopathy has rarely been reported (summary by Babameto-Laku et al., 2011). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, see LGMDR1 (253600). [from OMIM]

Hereditary rippling muscle disease is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by mechanically triggered contractions of skeletal muscle. In rippling muscle disease, mechanical stimulation leads to electrically silent muscle contractions that spread to neighboring fibers that cause visible ripples to move over the muscle. RMD is usually inherited as an autosomal dominant trait, but autosomal recessive inheritance has also been reported (Kubisch et al., 2005). Genetic Heterogeneity of Rippling Muscle Disease Another locus for RMD, designated RMD1 (600332), maps to chromosome 1q41. [from OMIM]

The spectrum of ANO5 muscle disease is a continuum that ranges from asymptomatic hyperCKemia and exercise-induced myalgia to proximal and/or distal muscle weakness. The most typical presentation is limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2L (LGMD2L) with late-onset proximal lower-limb weakness in the fourth or fifth decade (range 15-70 years). Less common is Miyoshi-like disease (Miyoshi muscular dystrophy 3) with early-adult-onset calf distal myopathy (around age 20 years). Incidental hyperCKemia may be present even earlier. Initial symptoms are walking difficulties, reduced sports performance, and difficulties in standing on toes as well as nonspecific exercise myalgia and/or burning sensation in the calf muscles. Muscle weakness and atrophy are frequently asymmetric. Cardiac findings can include cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias and/or left ventricular dysfunction. Bulbar or respiratory symptoms have not been reported. Females have milder disease manifestations than males. Disease progression is slow in both the LGMD and distal forms; ambulation is preserved until very late in the disease course. Life span is normal. [from GeneReviews]

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is characterized by muscle weakness and atrophy resulting from progressive degeneration and irreversible loss of the anterior horn cells in the spinal cord (i.e., lower motor neurons) and the brain stem nuclei. The onset of weakness ranges from before birth to adulthood. The weakness is symmetric, proximal > distal, and progressive. Before the genetic basis of SMA was understood, it was classified into clinical subtypes based on maximum motor function achieved; however, it is now apparent that the phenotype of SMN1-associated SMA spans a continuum without clear delineation of subtypes. With supportive care only, poor weight gain with growth failure, restrictive lung disease, scoliosis, and joint contractures are common complications; however, newly available targeted treatment options are changing the natural history of this disease. [from GeneReviews]

Any familial isolated dilated cardiomyopathy in which the cause of the disease is a mutation in the FKTN gene. [from MONDO]

MDDGB5 is an autosomal recessive congenital muscular dystrophy with impaired intellectual development and structural brain abnormalities (Brockington et al., 2001). It is part of a group of similar disorders resulting from defective glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan (DAG1; 128239), collectively known as 'dystroglycanopathies' (Mercuri et al., 2006). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of congenital muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy type B, see MDDGB1 (613155). [from OMIM]

Hereditary myopathy with early respiratory failure (HMERF) is a slowly progressive myopathy that typically begins in the third to fifth decades of life. The usual presenting findings are gait disturbance relating to distal leg weakness or nocturnal respiratory symptoms due to respiratory muscle weakness. Weakness eventually generalizes and affects both proximal and distal muscles. Most affected individuals require walking aids within a few years of onset; some progress to wheelchair dependence and require nocturnal noninvasive ventilatory support about ten years after onset. The phenotype varies even among individuals within the same family: some remain ambulant until their 70s whereas others may require ventilator support in their 40s. [from GeneReviews]

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) typically presents with weakness of the facial muscles, the stabilizers of the scapula, or the dorsiflexors of the foot. Severity is highly variable. Weakness is slowly progressive and approximately 20% of affected individuals eventually require a wheelchair. Life expectancy is not shortened. [from GeneReviews]

MDGDC5 is an autosomal recessive muscular dystrophy characterized by variable age at onset, normal cognition, and no structural brain changes (Brockington et al., 2001). It is part of a group of similar disorders resulting from defective glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan (DAG1; 128239), collectively known as 'dystroglycanopathies' (Mercuri et al., 2006). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy type C, see MDDGC1 (609308). [from OMIM]

A mild form of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy with characteristics of muscle weakness in the four limbs, mild scapular winging, severe atrophy of the quadriceps and anterior tibialis muscles, calf hypertrophy and lack of respiratory and cardiac involvement. [from SNOMEDCT_US]

The spectrum of ANO5 muscle disease is a continuum that ranges from asymptomatic hyperCKemia and exercise-induced myalgia to proximal and/or distal muscle weakness. The most typical presentation is limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2L (LGMD2L) with late-onset proximal lower-limb weakness in the fourth or fifth decade (range 15-70 years). Less common is Miyoshi-like disease (Miyoshi muscular dystrophy 3) with early-adult-onset calf distal myopathy (around age 20 years). Incidental hyperCKemia may be present even earlier. Initial symptoms are walking difficulties, reduced sports performance, and difficulties in standing on toes as well as nonspecific exercise myalgia and/or burning sensation in the calf muscles. Muscle weakness and atrophy are frequently asymmetric. Cardiac findings can include cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias and/or left ventricular dysfunction. Bulbar or respiratory symptoms have not been reported. Females have milder disease manifestations than males. Disease progression is slow in both the LGMD and distal forms; ambulation is preserved until very late in the disease course. Life span is normal. [from GeneReviews]

Autosomal recessive myosin storage congenital myopathy-7B (CMYP7B) is a skeletal muscle disorder characterized by the onset of scapuloperoneal muscle weakness in early childhood or young adulthood. Affected individuals have difficulty walking, steppage gait, and scapular winging due to shoulder girdle involvement. The severity and progression of the disorder is highly variable, even within families. Most patients develop respiratory insufficiency, nocturnal hypoventilation, and restrictive lung disease; some develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Additional features include myopathic facies, high-arched palate, scoliosis, and muscle wasting with thin body habitus. Serum creatine kinase may be normal or elevated. Skeletal muscle biopsy shows variable findings, including myosin storage disease, type 1 fiber predominance, centralized nuclei, and multiminicore disease (Onengut et al., 2004; Tajsharghi et al., 2007; Beecroft et al., 2019). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of congenital myopathy, see CMYP1A (117000). [from OMIM]

Salih myopathy is characterized by muscle weakness (manifest during the neonatal period or in early infancy) and delayed motor development; children acquire independent walking between ages 20 months and four years. In the first decade of life, global motor performance is stable or tends to improve. Moderate joint and neck contractures and spinal rigidity may manifest in the first decade but become more obvious in the second decade. Scoliosis develops after age 11 years. Cardiac dysfunction manifests between ages five and 16 years, progresses rapidly, and leads to death between ages eight and 20 years, usually from heart rhythm disturbances. [from GeneReviews]

Congenital muscular dystrophies resulting from defective glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan (DAG1; 128239) are characterized by early onset of muscle weakness, usually before ambulation is achieved; intellectual disability mild brain anomalies are variable (Balci et al., 2005; Godfrey et al., 2007). Congenital muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathies with or without impaired intellectual development (type B) represent the intermediate range of the spectrum of dystroglycanopathies. They are less severe than muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy with brain and eye anomalies (type A; see MDDGA1, 236670), previously designated Walker-Warburg syndrome (WWS) or muscle-eye-brain disease (MEB), and more severe than limb-girdle muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy (type C; see MDDGC1, 609308). Genetic Heterogeneity of Congenital Muscular Dystrophy-Dystroglycanopathy with or without Impaired Intellectual Development (Type B) Congenital muscular dystrophy with impaired intellectual development due to defective glycosylation of DAG1 is genetically heterogeneous. See also MDDGB2 (613156), caused by mutation in the POMT2 gene (607439); MDDGB3 (613151), caused by mutation in the POMGNT1 gene (606822); MDDGB4 (613152), caused by mutation in the FKTN gene (607440); MDDGB5 (616612), caused by mutation in the FKRP gene (606596); MDDGB6 (608840), caused by mutation in the LARGE gene (603590); MDDGB14 (615351), caused by mutation in the GMPPB gene (615320); and MDDGB15 (618992), caused by mutation in the DPM3 gene (605951). [from OMIM]

Autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy-6 (LGMDR6) is a very rare and severe neuromuscular disorder with onset in most patients in the first decade of life. Generalized muscle weakness affecting predominantly proximal and distal muscles of the limbs is progressive, and patients require walking aids or become wheelchair-bound. Some patients have cardiomyopathy or heart rhythm abnormalities, or require ventilatory support (Alonso-Perez et al., 2022). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, see LGMDR1 (253600). [from OMIM]

MDDGC4 is an autosomal recessive muscular dystrophy with onset in infancy or early childhood. Cognition and brain structure are usually normal (Godfrey et al., 2006). It is part of a group of similar disorders resulting from defective glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan (DAG1; 128239), collectively known as 'dystroglycanopathies' (Mercuri et al., 2009). [from OMIM]

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophies resulting from defective glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan (DAG1; 128239) represent the mildest end of the phenotypic spectrum of muscular dystrophies collectively known as dystroglycanopathies. The limb-girdle phenotype is characterized by onset of muscular weakness apparent after ambulation is achieved; mental retardation and mild brain anomalies are variable (Balci et al., 2005; review by Godfrey et al., 2007). The most severe end of the phenotypic spectrum of dystroglycanopathies is represented by congenital muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy with brain and eye anomalies (type A; see MDDGA1, 236670), previously designated Walker-Warburg syndrome (WWS) or muscle-eye-brain disease (MEB), and the intermediate range of the spectrum is represented by congenital muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy with or without mental retardation (type B; see MDDGB1, 613155). Genetic Heterogeneity of Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy-Dystroglycanopathy (Type C) Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy due to defective glycosylation of DAG1 is genetically heterogeneous. See also MDDGC2 (613158), caused by mutation in the POMT2 gene (607439); MDDGC3 (613157), caused by mutation in the POMGNT1 gene (606822); MDDGC4 (611588), caused by mutation in the FKTN gene (607440); MDDGC5 (607155), caused by mutation in the FKRP gene (606596); MDDGC7 (616052), caused by mutation in the ISPD gene (CRPPA; 614631); MDDGC8 (618135), caused by mutation in the POMGNT2 gene (614828); MDDGC9 (613818) caused by mutation in the DAG1 gene (128239); MDDGC12 (616094), caused by mutation in the POMK gene (615247); MDDGC14 (615352) caused by mutation in the GMPPB gene (615320); and MDDGC15 (612937), caused by mutation in the DPM3 gene (605951). [from OMIM]