Duchenne muscular dystrophy, often called Duchenne, is a rare and devastating genetic disease that steals muscle strength from young boys, one step at a time.

It is caused by the absence of dystrophin, a protein that protects muscles from damage. Without it, muscles slowly break down and are replaced with fat and scar tissue. What starts as trouble running, climbing stairs, or getting up from the floor turns into a lifelong battle to move, breathe, and survive.

Duchenne almost always appears in early childhood. By their early teens, many boys lose the ability to walk. As the disease advances, it weakens the muscles of the heart and lungs — the very muscles that keep life going. There is no cure.

Behind the medical words are real children. Little boys who want to play soccer, ride bikes, and grow up. Parents who hear the diagnosis and feel the ground disappear beneath them. Families who live with ticking clocks and shrinking options.

Duchenne shortens lives. Most young men with Duchenne do not live past their 20s or 30s.

Research is moving forward. Treatments can slow the damage. Hope is alive — but time is not on their side.

Every voice raised, every share, every act of support helps push science, funding, and awareness forward. These boys are not statistics. They are sons, brothers, and fighters — and they need the world to stand with them.