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Glite Dictionary
McArdle's disease

McArdle's disease

1 8.9
A rare inherited condition that makes muscles weak and cramp during exercise
  • noun
  • /məkˈɑrdəlz dɪˈziːz/
  • Specialized
: enfermedad de McArdle
  • Individuals with McArdle's disease often experience severe muscle cramps during exercise.

Examples

  • The doctor diagnosed him with McArdle's disease after he presented symptoms of muscle weakness and cramping.

  • Due to McArdle's disease, her muscles cannot effectively utilize glycogen for energy, leading to fatigue.

  • Myophosphorylase deficiency (McArdle's disease)

    Academic text (2005)

Synonyms

dystrophy
vsMcArdle's disease
  • Specialized
11 9.3

A disease passed from parents that makes muscles get weak and waste away

is instead a metabolic condition causing glycogen deposits and cramps not general wasting
muscular dystrophy
vsMcArdle's disease
  • Specialized
10 5.3

Inherited diseases that gradually make the muscles used for movement weak and smaller

is a metabolic muscle disorder causing glycogen buildup and exercise cramps rather than wasting

Surface Forms

McArdle's disease singular

Morphology

McArdle's + disease

The term combines an eponymic proper name ("McArdle's"), which carries no semantic content for most learners, with "disease," which only signals a medical condition. A B1 learner who knows the constituents will infer it is some kind of illness but cannot derive the specific inherited glycogen-storage characteristics or symptoms, so understanding is partial rather than full.

Etymology

McArdle's disease is named after the doctor McArdle who first noticed patients whose muscles became weak and cramped during exercise. So the name now points to the condition that causes 'muscle weakness' and 'cramping'.