Symptoms and Prevalence
Because of the extreme variability of the disease, an authoritative and scientifically confirmed set of symptoms does not yet exist. The prevalence is widely quoted to be 1/20,000, but the exact prevalence is not known. A November 2008 report from Orpha.net, an organization backed by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), lists a prevalence of 7/100,000 which would make FSHD the most prevalent form of Muscular Dystrophy (Duchenne and Becker are listed at 5/100,000).
Symptoms:
- Facial muscle weakness (eyelid drooping, inability to whistle, decreased facial expression, depressed or angry facial expression, difficulty pronouncing the letters M, B, and P)
- Shoulder weakness (difficulty working with the arms raised, sloping shoulder)
- Hearing loss
- Abnormal heart rhythm
- Unequal weakening of the biceps, triceps, deltoids, and lower arm muscles
- Loss of strength in stomach muscles and eventual progression to the legs
- Foot drop
Read more about this topic: Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy
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