Muscle Dystrophy to be confirmed

Dear Ask The Doctor: Hi there, I ve noticed during the last few years that my leg muscles were getting weaker. To cut a long story short I had a blood test to check for creatine levels which came back 10 times higher then they should have been. My doctor said that it could be a limb girdle dystrophy. He told me not to worry because it could be something else. Obviously I am very worried and was wondering what else it could possibly be. I m going for a muscle biopsy next week. Is there anything else that it could be? I work in an office and do not get a lot of exercise. I also drink and smoke a fair bit. If you have any ideas at all it would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Robert: Muscle can clinically express disease in very few ways: weakness or decreased movement, muscle ache, or abnormal variations in power as a result of physical activity. The main clinical hallmark of neuromuscular disease (muscular dystrophy) is weakness. A muscular dystrophy is a potentially hereditary disease characterized by progressive degeneration of muscle. Many such diseases exist. The classification comprises Duchenne, Becker, and various other types. Some patients with Congenital Myopathy , especially central core disease (CCD) (less frequently with multicore disease) are inclined to develop malignant hyperthermia. . The diagnosis is done based in the physical examination, muscle biopsy, lab tests (aldolase, creatinine, LDH, myoglobin in urine and serum), and amongst other test is the EMG. On the other hand, the levels of Creatine may be elevated by some drugs (for example: “Crestor”), anyways the confirmatory diagnosis in case of a Muscular Dystrophy is the muscle Biopsy, then after you get the results you should discuss with your doctor the best treatment options available for you.