Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy (BMD)

Authors

Affiliations

Nate Yomogida, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.S. in Kinesiology

Chloë Kerstein, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.A. in Neuroscience

Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy (BMD) refers to a genetic (X-linked recessive disorder) involving dystrophin gene mutation, which results in progressive muscle degeneration most often in the proximal lower limbs but sometimes complicated by heart failure¹.

Epidemiology

Onset

Varies widely between 5-60years¹

Etiology

Pathophysiology

DDX

Becker’s Vs Duchenne

Currently, BMD is considered a mild form of DMD rather than a separate clinical entity.

Ambulation

DMD patients are wheelchair-dependent before age 13, whereas individuals with BMD can be ambulatory even after age 16¹.

Treatment

Interventional trials are more rarely conducted for BMD than DMD, thus it may be useful to research treatment as well.

References

1.

Thada PK, Bhandari J, Forshaw KC, Umapathi KK. Becker Muscular Dystrophy. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024. Accessed March 18, 2024. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556092/