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Start free with EleplanSteinert myotonic dystrophy
ORPHA:273Disease
Also called Myotonic dystrophy type 1 · Steinert disease
What it is
A rare genetic multi-system disorder characterized by a wide range of muscle-related manifestations (muscle weakness, myotonia, early onset cataracts (before age 50) and systemic manifestations (cerebral, endocrine, cardiac, gastrointestinal tract, uterus, skin and immunologic involvement) that vary depending on the age of onset. The very wide clinical spectrum ranges from lethal presentations in infancy to mild, late-onset disease.
Key facts
- Prevalence
- 1-9 / 100 000 (Europe)
- Age of onset
- Adolescent, Adult, Antenatal, Childhood, Infancy, Neonatal
- Inheritance
- Autosomal dominant
- Classified as
- Disease
Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.
Signs and symptoms
Very common80–99%
6Common30–79%
17- Abnormality of masticatory muscle
- Abnormal rapid eye movement sleep
- Atrial fibrillation
- Atypical behavior
- Cognitive impairment
- Fatigable weakness of bulbar muscles
- Fatigue
- Foot dorsiflexor weakness
- Gait disturbance
- Hypersomnia
- Impairment in personality functioning
- Myalgia
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Poor fine motor coordination
- Prolonged PR interval
- Prolonged QRS complex
- Weakness of facial musculature
These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.
Genes reported in subtypes
Orphanet records this gene on 5 more specific entries under this disorder, not on this entry itself:
A well-studied disease is usually split into subtypes, and the gene is curated on whichever one the evidence belongs to. Open a subtype to see which gene goes with it.
ICD-10 codes
ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.
Related health topics
Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.
Benefit programs to look at
Programs whose eligibility touches the same ICD-10 categories. Eligibility is decided by the administering agency, never by this page.
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
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