Conditions That Can Cause Hypotonia (Low Muscle Tone)

Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy in an individual can cause them to develop hypotonia. Muscular dystrophy describes a set of genetic conditions where the patient's muscles become progressively weakened. The mutations that cause muscular dystrophy can be inherited from a family member and cause abnormal muscle fiber alterations. The muscles in affected individuals do not develop correctly, due to an abnormality in a protein called dystrophin. This protein is part of the group of proteins that anchor numerous components in the cells of the muscle to each other and the outer muscle membrane. Dystrophin is also essential for the healthy process of repairing damaged muscle tissue. Muscular dystrophy is divided into several types depending on the type of abnormalities a patient has in the dystrophin protein. Irreversible muscle damage and incorrect building of muscle tissue cause an affected individual to have flaccid or overly relaxed muscles. The overly relaxed muscles are unable to hold a healthy amount of tension and resistance to movement, which causes low muscle tone.