Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a particularly virulent form of muscular dystrophy that rapidly weakens muscles throughout the body due to the resulting lack of an integral functional dystrophin protein of muscle function. It appears very early and spreads quickly, often debilitating recipients and forcing them to use wheelchairs well before adulthood. Dystrophin is essential for maintaining the integrity of muscles and the lack of this particular protein will unfortunately force an individual to waste away and suffer health problems for the rest of their life (which will also be reduced to around 30 years). The onset can begin very early, even in early childhood, as the child's muscles will not develop properly, leading to mobility difficulties. It usually takes much longer for a child with DMD to learn to sit, crawl, or walk. Later in adolescence, they will develop a gait and have difficulty moving over any type of uneven terrain. The disease continues to worsen throughout the recipient's life as the muscle tissue swells and will gradually be replaced by fatty and scar tissue. This primarily affects the legs, but will also worsen in other parts of the body, including even vital organs such as the lungs and heart. Death usually occurs in the form of respiratory or heart failure in early adulthood. Duchenne muscular dystrophy, also known as "DMD", is an inherited disease that results from a mutation in the gene that regulates the production of the dystrophin protein located on the forms of dystrophy by its aggressive degeneration of muscle tissue and its very early onset. Fortunately, this disorder is a recessive trait and therefore...... middle of article...... have found some success in trials on mice. Although I am unsure of how this could be effectively implemented throughout an individual's body, I am reassured by the fact that there is much more knowledge in this area than me that could very good to find a solution to this problem. At the very least, perfecting methods of gene transfer via viral transmission or other means could potentially be used on fertilized eggs at the earliest stages of life and, in doing so, effectively eliminate the problem at conception. Perhaps over time we could see the genetic defect completely eliminated from the human gene pool. It will indeed be a bright day when we can safely prevent the transmission of defective genes from contaminated chromosomes to the next generation without depriving individuals of the right to reproduce. I hope that day comes as soon as possible.