Artigenda
Duchenne Awareness Day
When: annually, September 7.
Duchenne Awareness Day is an initiative of The World Duchenne Organization and has taken place annually on 7 September 2014. Besides Duchenne disease, attention is also drawn to Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) on this day.
Duchenne, which is how the disease is often abbreviated, is an inherited muscle disease, mainly affecting boys. Muscles slowly lose strength, eventually leading to the deterioration of muscles responsible for breathing. It will also affect the heart muscle. As a result, the life expectancy of patients with Duchenne is low (forty years).
Rare disease
This is a rare disease. It is a disease that manifests at an early age and for which there is no cure. At a very young age, children therefore have no strength in their muscles. Because of their disease, some children may face learning or behavioural problems. In many cases, individuals rely on a wheelchair and other aids.
Research showed that the disease is caused by the lack of the protein dystrophin, the protein that determines muscle strength. Its lack causes muscles to die.
Girls and women
As rare as the disease itself is the chance of a girl getting the disease. This is not to say that women cannot be carriers of the disease.
