[PHOTO] four children suffering from muscular dystrophy

Diagnosis reveal that the type, afflicting the children, is Duchane muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy has several types, depending on the part of the body under siege.
The condition has no cure while research shows that sufferers die before they attain the age of 19 or 20 years. The very lucky ones may live up to 30 years.
Due to wrong diagnosis, few cases have officially been reported in Nigeria. However, the condition is a rare disease.



Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon, National Orthupaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, Dr. Babalola Olatunji, speaking on the prevalence rate of the disease, said, “We have to appreciate the fact that one out of 3,500 live births usually has it. But, remember it is more commom for male population. We’re talking about one out of 3,500 male birth. For female-births, you multiply that by two, that’s about one in 7,000 live births.


“These are the characteristics: by five years, it starts manifesting, ten years later they’re found on wheelchairs. By 30 years, most of them are gone, that’s Duchane muscular dystrophy. It is more severe.
“Muscular dystrophy is a group of muscle diseases that weaken the musculoskeletal system and hamper locomotion. Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissues.


“The signs and symptoms are progressive muscular wasting, poor balance, drooping eyelids, atrophy, scoliosis (curvature of the spine and the back), inability to walk, frequent falls, waddling gait, calf deformation, limited range of movement, respiratory difficulty, joint contractures.”

According to experts, there is no known cure for muscular dystrophy.
Narrating the story of his life, Onyia-Eburuo who is a painter by profession, told Daily Sun how his marriage produced five children, four males and a female. Of these, only the eldest, Prince enjoys good health. “We got married in 1992. In 1993, we had our first child, a boy, who is now 19. The youngest among them is eight years. With the exception of the oldest, all my four children are suffering from muscular dystrophy. Recalling how the children’s ill-health started, he said they were born perfectly normal and were attending schools when all of a sudden, the condition began to manifest in his second son, Tochukwu in 2006.