Medical Dictionary: Mitochondrial myopathies

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Mitochondrial myopathies: Another name for Mitochondrial diseases.
Mitochondrial myopathies (condition): Any of a group of mitochondrial disorders affecting cell metabolism and especially muscles.
Mitochondrial myopathies (condition): Mitochondrial diseases are very rare. However, they are very interesting because they are genetic diseases, and yet are very different to all other types of genetic disease. Surprisingly, there is actually DNA in the body that is not on any of the 46 chromosomes. This "other DNA" was discovered a long time ago but has only recently been linked to disease. Currently, mitochondrial DNA is an extremely active area of research. See also article Mitochondrial disorders.

Mitochondrial myopathies: Mitochondrial myopathies are a group of neuromuscular diseases caused by damage to the mitochondria - small, energy-producing structures found in every cell in the body that serve as the cells' "power plants." Nerve cells in the brain and muscles require a great deal of energy, and thus appear to be particularly damaged when mitochondrial dysfunction occurs. Some of the more common mitochondrial myopathies include Kearns-Sayre syndrome, myoclonus epilepsy with ragged-red fibers (MERRF), and mitochondrial encephalomyopathy lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). ¹

More information on medical condition: Mitochondrial diseases:

Footnotes:
1. excerpt from NINDS Mitochondrial Myopathies Information Page: NINDS

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