Duchenne's muscular dystrophy

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The most common form of muscular dystrophy, caused by a genetic mutation resulting in the absence of the structural protein dystrophin, in which fat and fibrous tissue infiltrate muscle tissue and cause eventual weakening of the respiratory muscles and the myocardium. The disease, which almost exclusively affects males, begins in early childhood and usually causes death before adulthood.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the most common form of muscular dystrophy; inheritance is X-linked recessive (carried by females but affecting only males)