A descriptive epidemiological study of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in childhood in Estonia.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most frequent muscle disorder in childhood. There are no data on the epidemiology of muscular dystrophy in Estonia and the other Baltic States. The present study assessed the incidence and prevalence of DMD in Estonia.

Early onset of cardiomyopathy in two brothers with X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy.

Two brothers are reported suffering from X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy caused by a 59bp deletion eliminating nucleotides 329-388 of the STA gene. Besides the typical findings for Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, both patients showed an unusual early onset of cardiac symptoms at age 6 and 9 years, respectively, coinciding with unusual high creatine kinase. A cardiological follow up showed worsening of the cardiac condition in the beginning of the second decade.