Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is the most common pediatric muscular dystrophy, it primarily affects boys, and is generally lethal by adulthood. It is a progressive disease whereby, due to a missing protein called dystrophin, muscles begin to waste away from birth  -- including both voluntary muscles as well as those of the heart and respiratory system. Dystrophin is an essential building block of all healthy muscle cells.

The majority of those children with Duchenne are diagnosed between the ages of 3 and 5. The disease's slow robbing of a youngster's independence can at first be seen by his limited ability to engage in normal age-appropriate physical activities. By the age of 11 or 12, most boys will lose mobility and become confined to a wheelchair. If not affected by any of a multitude of complications during the early years, most will lose the battle in their late teens due to respiratory or heart failure.

Medical research is ever-evolving and new therapies may be on the horizon. However, at the present time, medical treatments are only palliative and there is no cure for Duchenne.