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What is the most common muscular dystrophy in adults?
Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is most common muscular dystrophy in adults.
DM1 is a multisystem disorder with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance, but severity and degree of systemic involvement vary considerably. The most common form of the disease presents in the second decade of life, but there is also a congenital form.
Symptoms of Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1)
The most common presenting symptom of adult-onset DM1 is myotonia which is most prominent in facial and distal arm muscles.
Over time, patients also develop distal muscle weakness and atrophy.
Facial weakness and temporalis muscle atrophy give rise to a characteristic narrow, hatchet-faced appearance.
In addition, patients develop frontal baldness, ptosis, and neck muscle atrophy early in the disease.
