Family Founded. Community Supported.
Advancing Quality of Life for Duchenne Families.
Duchenne Brothers Foundation raises funds to improve the quality of life for individuals and families affected by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy through support, advocacy, adaptive sports, equipment, and community-driven fundraising.
Our Purpose
A Foundation Built on Family, Dignity, and Action.
Duchenne Brothers Foundation was named after our 2 boys with all DMD boys as a band of brothers together fighting this disease. On our journey for a cure, we will support efforts to find better medications and equipment, improve quality of life for those with DMD including funding for Wheelchair Soccer, and advocate for all Duchenne Families.
Our Mission
Our mission is to find a cure and improve the quality of life for all that suffer from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
What is Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy?
Historically, most boys who have it do not survive beyond their mid-twenties, and those that do will be using a wheelchair by age 12 and experience social isolation. The simplest of tasks become difficult, and in the later stages, heart and breathing muscles begin to fail. Nearly 15,000 boys are living with the disease in the United States alone and over 300,000 worldwide. The disorder knows no cultural, economic, or social boundaries.
Muscular dystrophies are a group of genetic disorders characterized by muscle weakness. Duchenne is the most common and severe form, caused by loss of dystrophin, beneath the sarcolemma. The molecular mechanisms of the disease have been extensively investigated since the discovery of the gene in 1986.
The good news is that new gene-based therapies have recently emerged with noted advances in using conventional gene replacement strategies, RNA-based technology, and pharmacological approaches. In particular, antisense-mediated exon skipping has shown encouraging results and holds promise for the treatment of dystrophic muscle.
