The facts about DMD are grim:

1.   DMD has a 100% fatality rate.
   

2.   DMD is a killer that typically achieves success by late teens to early twenties.
   

3.   The ability to walk is generally lost between the ages 7-11.
   

4.   By the teen years, DMD has invaded heart and respiratory muscles and caused debilitating orthopedic complications, resulting in limited mobility, a need for mechanical support and eventually ventilation to provide adequate airflow.
   

5.   Boys who suffer from DMD are dwarfed by its enormity.
   

Duchenne knows no boundaries, affecting boys from every cultural, economic and social background.  Boys all over the world are suffering from the effects of Duchenne, the most severe form of muscular dystrophy.

1.   Approximately one in 3,500 boys is born with DMD.
   

2.   An estimated 15,000-20,000 children in America are afflicted.
   

3.   DMD affects boys of every ethnicity and geographic location.
   

4.   One third of all DMD cases are the result of random in utero mutation, with no warning before the affected baby is born.
   

Although much is known about the cause and effects of DMD, the current treatment options are extremely limited.  Doctors recommend steroids (which Javier’s delicate, little system cannot tolerate) and daily stretching, but these approaches are inadequate.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a devastating muscle disease brought on by a mutated dystrophin gene, which causes muscles to progressively degenerate.  It is the most common fatal genetic disorder to affect children around the world.  Children with DMD cannot produce dystrophin, the protein necessary for muscle strength and function.  As a result, every skeletal muscle in the body deteriorates.  Symptoms of DMD can appear as early as age three and only affects males.  Although Duchenne is the most common fatal genetic disorder to affect children, there is no cure.

The ability to walk is generally lost between ages seven and eleven. By the teen years DMD has invaded heart and respiratory muscles. Teenagers can expect limited mobility, a need for mechanical support and eventually ventilation to provide adequate airflow.

DMD is a killer that typically achieves success by age twenty. The boys who suffer from it are dwarfed by its enormity