PROBLEM OF MUSCULAR DYSTROPHIES

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Abstract
An opportunity has existed during the past 27 years to study a series of 255 children afflicted with muscular dystrophies, muscular atrophies, and clinically similar conditions at the St. Louis unit of the Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children. A review of these cases has been conducted in an effort to clarify the confusion that exists in relation to the terminology and to discern more of the natural history of these diseases. Because no initial examination may be made on patients over 15 years of age at this institution, the material studied cannot be considered comprehensive except for those diseases in which the onset is common in childhood. These patients may be classified under two major headings, the myopathies and the neuropathies. The former pathological conditions result from primary degenerative changes within the muscles themselves, while the latter occur secondary to disease of the nervous system. A total of 231 cases