Today, people diagnosed with DMD normally live to their early thirties. This life expectancy is a massive improvement from how it was a couple decades prior, where DMD patients weren't expected to reach adulthood. This gigantic leap was only made possible by the countless amount of man hours that was allocated solely for DMD research. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is a government-funded research institution that concerns itself with gaining a better understanding of the genetic disorder. By gaining a greater understanding of the disorder, they are more capable of treating it.(NINDS Mission, 2015)
Specifically, the NINDS has been thoroughly researching gene therapy and genetic modification. After discovering that DMD is caused by a mutation within the x-chromosome, they have been looking for ways to bypass it. One of the approaches they are taking comes in the form of a specialized drug that promotes the production of dystrophin despite the mutation. Another approach they are researching involves splicing and developing a functional dystrophin gene that would reduce the patient's disorder into a much less severe one. The NINDS has also recently discovered special genes called modifier genes. With these, researchers believe that they can reduce the severity of DMD.(Muscular Dystophy: Hope Through Research, 2016.)All of this research has increased the worlds understanding of genes and genetic therapy, which will prove to be important as scientists discover more breakthroughs. This new found knowledge will not only be applicable to DMD, but it will help all victims suffering with a genetic disorder. Furthermore, the mutation suppressing drug that the NINDS is attempting to develop will also be helpful in treating other mutation disorders such as Huntington's disease. But despite all of this, the genetic field of study is still in its infancy. This ultimately means that although there is a better understanding of DMD today when compared to fifteen years ago, the world is still decades off from finding a definite cure for any genetic abnormalities.
If scientists continue to study the human genome and genetic therapy, then eventually we will be able to treat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. People who have inherited the disorder at birth would be able to undergo a treatment that reverts the mutation in the x-chromosome, thus allowing their cells to produce dystrophin. When this occurs, genetic disorders would be a thing of the past, which is ultimately ideal for humanity. No more people will needlessly die because of a gene they were unlucky enough to inherit.
Background Image 8. Scientists performing experiments in a lab. Scientists are Working in a Chemical Lab [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2016, from http://cache1.asset-cache.net/gc/183549390-scientists-are-working-in-a-chemical-lab-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=8jI7ZRnQk+Vy/ALrEhaPcZd+42lViwSoj+40I6beKmE2FlL2dWBCAsPI8hGJspNO