Muscular dystrophies: alterations in a limited number of cellular pathways?

Identification of new genes involved in muscle disorders has dramatically c hanged the traditional clinical classification of the large and heterogeneo us group of the muscular dystrophies. Results obtained in recent years by p ositional candidate cloning have demonstrated the role of the sarcolemma an d of the nuclear envelope in normal muscle function and have elucidated mol ecular pathways perturbed by mutations that lead to muscular dystrophy.