Narayanaswami, Pushpa2017-09-292015Narayanaswami, Pushpa. 2015. “Dismantling Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy.” JAMA Neurology 72 (12) (December 1): 1409. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.2749.2168-6149http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33973672Muscular dystrophy encompasses a diverse group of genetically determined muscle disorders. The first clinical description of the disorder is attributed to Giovanni Semmola, who, in 1829, described 2 boys affected by a disorder with prominent muscular hypertrophy.1 Between 1850 and 1868, Aran, Meryon, and Duchenne described a progressive atrophy of voluntary muscles, ultimately termed pseudohypertrophic muscular paralysis of children by Duchenne.1,2 Other descriptions followed: familial atrophy of the pelvic girdle muscles (Leyden in 1876), scapulohumeral muscular atrophy (Erb in 1884), and myopathy with facial weakness (Landouzy and Dejerine in 1884).1 The term limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD), suggested by Stevenson in 1953,3 and further detailed by Walton and Nattrass in a seminal article,2 refers to a group of muscular dystrophies with onset of weakness in the shoulder or pelvic girdles.4 The variable clinical course of this disorder was recognized even in these early descriptions.2,3en-USJournal Article2017-05-3120152017-09-2910.1001/jamaneurol.2015.2749