Shop Plans
Health
Find a Health Plan
We offer a complete choice of plans to meet your coverage needs and fit your budget.
More Plans
Travel
Cancer
VIP
Dental
Get a Dental Plan
We offer three Traditional plans and three Certified plans to meet your needs.
Medicare
Pick a Medicare Plan
Thinking about your Medicare options? Find out which plan is right for you.
Find Doctor or Drug
Find a Doctor
Find a Doctor or Drug
Pick a directory to search or find other helpful information about drug resources, quality programs and more.
Directories
Louisiana Provider Directory
Quality Blue Directory
National Provider Directory
BlueDental Advantage Plus Directory
Davis Vision Directory
Hospital Based Physicians
ER/OR Information
Are you planning a hospital stay? If you just found out that you need surgery, or if you will be admitted to a hospital or ambulatory surgical center for any reason, you will most likely receive some care during your stay from a hospital-based physician. Learn more.
Other Directories
Blue Cross Blue Shield Global Core
Federal Employee Program (FEP)
Rx Drug Resources
Manage your medicine, find drug lists and learn how to save money.
Quality Programs
Quality Blue Programs
We work with doctors, hospitals and clinics around Louisiana to make sure you have a better healthcare experience.
Save Money
$25 Gym Memberships
Find a Gym
For just $25 a month and a $25 enrollment fee, you'll have access to 9,000 participating fitness locations around the state and nation.
More Money-Saving Tips
Find Discounts
Lower Drug Costs
Preventive Care Services
Primary Care Doctor
Pick a Primary Care Doctor
Picking a primary care doctor is an important step to staying healthy and saving money.
Choose the Right Care
Where you and go and who you see for treatment is a big part of getting quality healthcare while saving money.
Wellness
Discounts
Get discounts on gym memberships, fitness gear, healthy eating, prescriptions and more.
More Wellness Tips
Tools
Member Programs
Find a Program
Whether you want to quit smoking or find the right doctor, we have many programs to help.
Wellness Library
Learn About Wellness
Read articles, take quizzes, watch videos and listen to podcasts about many health topics.
Learn
Insurance 101
Learn the Basics
Understand your plan, learn about health savings accounts, and watch helpful videos.
Social
Find Us on Social Media
Join the conversation and stay connected with us for exclusive content.
Straight Talk
Get Straight Answers
If you're looking for a straight answer to your healthcare questions, this is the place.
My Account
My Account Information
Claims
Benefits
Costs
Statements
Pharmacy
Manage Account
Manage Your Account
Pay your bill, view your statements or update your email or password.
Forms
Other Coverage Questionnaire
Authorized Delegate
Health Assessment
Muscular dystrophy is a group of inherited diseases characterized by weakness and wasting away of muscle tissue, with or without the breakdown of nerve tissue. There are 9 types of muscular dystrophy, with each type involving an eventual loss of strength, increasing disability, and possible deformity.
The most well known of the muscular dystrophies is Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), followed by Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD).
Listed below are the 9 different types of muscular dystrophy. Each type differs in the muscles affected, the age of onset, and its rate of progression. Some types are named for the affected muscles, including the following:
Type
Age at onset
Symptoms, rate of progression, and life expectancy
Becker
adolescence to early adulthood
Symptoms are almost identical to Duchenne, but less severe; progresses more slowly than Duchenne; survival into middle age. As with Duchenne, disease is almost always limited to males.
Congenital
birth
Symptoms include general muscle weakness and possible joint deformities; disease progresses slowly; shortened life span.
Duchenne
2 to 6 years
Symptoms include general muscle weakness and wasting; affects pelvis, upper arms, and upper legs; eventually involves all voluntary muscles; survival beyond 20s is rare. Seen in boys only. Very rarely can affect woman, who have much milder symptoms and a better prognosis.
Distal
40 to 60 years
Symptoms include weakness and wasting of muscles of the hands, forearms, and lower legs; progression is slow; rarely leads to total incapacity.
Emery-Dreifuss
childhood to early teens
Symptoms include weakness and wasting of shoulder, upper arm, and shin muscles; joint deformities are common; progression is slow; sudden death may occur from cardiac problems.
Facioscapulohumeral
childhood to early adults
Symptoms include facial muscle weakness and weakness with some wasting of shoulders and upper arms; progression is slow with periods of rapid deterioration; life span may be many decades after onset.
Limb-Girdle
late childhood to middle age
Symptoms include weakness and wasting, affecting shoulder girdle and pelvic girdle first; progression is slow; death is usually due to cardiopulmonary complications.
Myotonic
20 to 40 years
Symptoms include weakness of all muscle groups accompanied by delayed relaxation of muscles after contraction; affects face, feet, hands, and neck first; progression is slow, sometimes spanning 50 to 60 years.
Oculopharyngeal
40 to 70 years
Symptoms affect muscles of eyelids and throat causing weakening of throat muscles, which, in time, causes inability to swallow and emaciation from lack of food; progression is slow.
Spinal muscular atrophies:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or motor neuron disease
Infantile progressive spinal muscular atrophy
Intermediate spinal muscular atrophy
Juvenile spinal muscular atrophy
Adult spinal muscular atrophy
Inflammatory myopathies:
Dermatomyositis
Polymyositis
Inclusion body myositis
Diseases of peripheral nerve:
Charcot-Marie tooth disease
Dejerine-Sottas disease
Friedreich's ataxia
Diseases of the neuromuscular junction:
Myasthenia gravis
Lambert-Eaton syndrome
Botulism
Metabolic diseases of the muscle:
Acid maltase deficiency
Carnitine deficiency
Carnitine palmityl transferase deficiency
Debrancher enzyme deficiency
Lactate dehydrogenase deficiency
Mitochondrial myopathy
Myoadenylate deaminase deficiency
Phosphorylase deficiency
Phosphofructokinase deficiency
Phosphoglycerate kinase deficiency
Less common myopathies:
Central core disease
Hyperthyroid myopathy
Myotonia congenita
Myotubular myopathy
Nemaline myopathy
Paramyotonia congenita
Periodic paralysis-hypokalemic-hyperkalemic