This genetic disorder can be prenatally detected via various means. One of the methods used is known as a fetal muscle biopsy, where doctors can determine dystrophin levels within the muscle of the child. If this protein is nonexistent within the sample, it is highly likely that the child will have DMD. Examining the muscle firsthand is extremely useful, as the symptoms of DMD primarily affect muscle function. This procedure is also a rather risky one, as a piece of muscular tissue from the fetus must be extracted in order to perform the required tests. Complications could end up disturbing the child's development, and could potentially lead to death. Doctors use a sonography to be able to take a sample without disturbing the child too much. This entire process is known as a muscle biopsy.(Kuller, Hoffman, Fries, & Golbus , 1992)
Doctors can also see if there is a muscular disorder by looking at the creatine kinase levels within the fetus. Creatine kinase is an enzyme that is released after a muscle is damaged, so elevated levels of it could hint towards a potential case of DMD. However, it is imprecise and cannot determine which disorder the fetus has without a doubt, so further testing must be taken afterwards. (DMD - Diagnosis, n.d.) This test performed by examining a blood sample taken from the fetus. The tests can be done prenatally (Edwards, Watts D., Watts R., & Rodeck, 1984) , but like many other invasive methods of genetic testing, there are significant risks involved. For example, fetal blood sampling creates a 1.4 percent chance that the fetus will die before and after 28 weeks of pregnancy. (Ghidini, Sepulveda, Lockwood, & Romero, 1993)
As stated on previous pages, this genetic disorder appears within one in every thirty-six hundred male infants. (“Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”, 2014)
Background Image 4: Micrograph of a muscle extracted via a muscle biopsy. Ragged Red Fibres [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2016, from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Ragged_red_fibres_-_gtc_-_very_high_mag.jpg