A large international study aimed at improving the care of
muscular dystrophy patients worldwide is being launched by
physicians, physical therapists, and researchers at the
University of Rochester Medical Center. Neurologist Robert
"Berch" Griggs, M.D., is heading the study of treatments for
Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most common form of the disease
that affects children. The condition, which affects boys almost
exclusively, progresses rapidly. Boys' symptoms start when they
are toddlers; untreated, they end up in a wheelchair before they
become teenagers. With today's best treatments, the disease,
which affects about 28,000 boys and young men in the United
States, is often fatal by the time a patient reaches his 20s or
early 30s. Despite decades of research, Griggs calls the current
treatment landscape for the disease "chaotic." Recently he has
identified 29 different treatment regimens in use by doctors
around the world. The new study is designed to eliminate the
chaos. With at least $11 million in f