West Coast University Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Case Study

choose ONE of the following diseases in order to answer the following questions:

1. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD)

• Caused by a mutation in the gene for dystrophin
• Dystrophin helps connect the cytoskeleton of a cell to the basal lamina – main issue
• Two extra side effect are that excess calcium enters the cell and the mitochondria burst

2. Rhabdomyolysis

• Caused by external damage to the muscle
• Leads to the breakdown of muscle fibers
• Two extra side effects are that excess calcium and continuous muscle contractions

3. Myosin Storage

• Caused by a mutation in the gene for MYH7
• Leads to an accumulation of myosin
• Two extra side effects are muscular weakness and spasms

Use the information about your disease to answer the following questions:

1. Using the two images below, or an image of your choice, explain what physical differences would occur in a muscle cell due to this disease.

2. Would this disease alter how your muscles can contract? List the events that occur during a contraction using the sliding filament model and indicate where, if anywhere, this disease would cause a problem and how. If it doesn’t, why not?

3. Would this disease effect one type of muscle fiber (Types I/IIa/IIb) more than the others? Why or why not?