Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy - Essay Example Duchenne muscular dystrophy or Pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy or Muscular dystrophy- Duchenne type is an X-linked neuromuscular disorder of muscle caused by an absence of the protein dystrophin. DMD was named in recognition of Dr. G. Duchenne de Boulogne from France around 150 years ago. He was the first person to attribute the signs and symptoms to a distinct familial disease entity. The gene responsible for it is DMD gene which is known to be the largest gene encoding the muscle protein, dystrophin the discovery of this gene was made around 20 years ago. Dystrophin provides structural stability to the dystroglycan complex (DGC) present on the cell membrane as it attaches with the inner surface of the muscle fiber membrane. A mutation in the DMD gene residing in Xp21 region of the X-chromosome, hampers the production of dystrophin protein causing progressive loss of muscle function and weakness (Partridge, 2007). It starts with the lower limbs and gradually covers the entire musculature. DMD is rapidly progressing form of muscular dystrophy affecting male with a frequency of 1 in 3500 infants (Chamberlain, 2006). It is observed that the affected boys start manifesting symptoms of disease early in life usually before 5 years of age. They become powerless and are unable to walk and are restricted to wheel chair during their late childhood or early teen years. Patients usually develop various complications related with respiratory insufficiency and/ or cardiomyopathy as the disease progresses. Death occurs at by late teen age or in the early twenties (Chamberlin, 2006). It is essential to provide appropriate treatment to overcome the basic genetic defect, either through medical, surgical, and rehabilitative approaches to make the patient comfortable (Sussman, 2002). Symptoms Before the age of 6 years symptoms start becoming obvious, although they are visible in early infancy. There are three clinical stages: an ambulatory stage, an early nonambulatory stage, and a late nonambulatory stage. Ambulatory Stage- This is between two and four years of age, at this stage, symptoms start appearing. Symptoms show weakness of forward head flexion and a inadequate capability to sit up persist beyond infancy leading to poor motor development, deficient memory skills and they gradually reduce their ability to cope with their peers both physically and mentally. Heel cord and elbow flexion contractures are also apparent. In rare cases, obstructive sleep apnea also develops along with facial soiling. The ECG readings show- Q waves leads in the lateral precordial while tall R and deep S waves leads in early precordial (Chamberlain, 2006). If glucocorticoids are not given then by the age of nine years, the child starts lacking ability to rise from supine to standing position and to climb stairs or arise from a chair and are able to ambulate with braces. Early Nonambulatory Stage- This stage is between 10 and 12 years, the patient becomes dependent on wheel chair and flexion contractures at the ankle and elbow becomes more obvious. In this stage aquatic therapy may slow the progression. The dependency on wheel chair develops scoliosis and the patient needs orthopedic consultation along with radiological evaluation. The average strength of the patient starts declining at the age of 9 years. Late Nonambulatory Sta

Comparison of Tate Modern and Saatchi Gallery Essay

Comparison of Tate Modern and Saatchi Gallery - Essay Example The essay "Comparison of Tate Modern and Saatchi Gallery" compares two galleries and analyzes success and failure of them. Saatchi Gallery on the other hand, failed mainly due to poor choice of locations and art displays, inadequate architectural design and conversion of former industrial buildings.The Tate Modern gallery was constructed in a building that was formerly a disused power station. The designer of the original Bankside station was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and it was built between 1947 and 1963. The western half of the structure was built with a chimney in 1952, while the eastern part of the building started operations in 1963. The power station was closed in 1981 as oil prices rose, because it was no longer economical to generate electricity through this method. Tate got an option on the site in 1981, which it exercised in 1994 and during this period, the building continued to remain unoccupied. Tate however, saw the potential in the now redundant Bankside power station; i t offered several advantages such as an enormous building with a large amount of available space, an architecturally superior construction proximity to historical sites such as St. Paul’s Cathedral and the rebuilt Globe theatre. The process of creating Tate Modern started in May 1994, when the Tate gallery in London Announced that it would be creating a huge new gallery for the specific purpose of exhibiting modern international works of art. As Sabbagh points out, the project appeared to be doomed.