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00:00I hate the fitness test.
00:06Those pull-ups are hard.
00:09Yeah.
00:11Quick!
00:13Dear Tim and Moby,
00:22My brother was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
00:26What is it?
00:27From Tyler.
00:29Well, muscular dystrophy is the name for a group of medical conditions
00:32that affects how a person's muscles work.
00:35Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD,
00:37is the most common form of the condition.
00:39It affects about 1 in 3,500 boys.
00:44No, girls can be born with DMD too,
00:46but it's really rare.
00:48Like I was saying,
00:49kids with muscular dystrophy don't have muscles that work like they should.
00:54Muscles play a big part in the way our bodies develop and function.
00:59So a condition that's messing with your muscles
01:01is going to affect your overall health.
01:04It can be hard to tell when young children have a serious condition like DMD.
01:11There are differences going on inside of people that we just can't see.
01:14Tommy there isn't last in line because he wants to be.
01:17The effects of DMD just make him move a little slower than the other kids.
01:21Kids, and like we said, usually boys,
01:23are generally diagnosed with DMD between the ages of 1 and 6.
01:28Well, there are some noticeable symptoms.
01:31Children with DMD usually have trouble jumping and hopping.
01:35They may fall down frequently
01:37and have problems doing things like running,
01:39climbing stairs,
01:40and getting up from seated positions.
01:43You'll see boys with DMD
01:44standing up using a move called Gower's Maneuver.
01:47Basically, they'll use their hands and arms
01:49to walk their bodies upright.
01:53Some of the boys walk on their toes a lot.
01:56Well, it's because their Achilles tendons tighten up.
02:00All of these signs help doctors spot DMD early.
02:04That's important,
02:05because the effects of muscular dystrophy are progressive,
02:07meaning they increase over time.
02:09See, DMD causes more and more muscle weakness
02:11as individual muscle cells die.
02:15The muscles don't necessarily get smaller.
02:19Lots of times,
02:20the muscle cells turn into fat and scar tissue,
02:22so the muscle can look big,
02:24but it's not strong.
02:27As a child with DMD grows up,
02:29the condition gets more serious.
02:31Things that most of us take for granted,
02:33like running, walking,
02:34or even hugging someone you love
02:36become more difficult as the disease progresses.
02:38Kids with DMD
02:39will eventually need some help getting around.
02:42They'll need to hold on to something as they walk
02:44and eventually use an electric wheelchair
02:46or electric scooter.
02:48No, it's not contagious.
02:50Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder
02:52that you're born with.
02:54It's caused by a change in a person's DNA sequence.
02:57Muscular dystrophy is a mistake
02:59in a part of the program
03:00that keeps muscles healthy.
03:03The muscles can't produce dystrophin,
03:05a protein that acts as a shock absorber
03:07to make muscles stable.
03:11There's still no cure for DMD,
03:13but treatment is improving all the time.
03:16Physical therapy can slow down its progress.
03:19And the sooner therapy begins,
03:20the more effective it'll be,
03:21so early diagnosis is really important.
03:24Scientists are constantly working
03:25to develop drugs
03:26that could alter the DNA sequence
03:28that codes for DMD.
03:31Are we interrupting something?
03:33No, uh, we were just...
03:38Hey, I can't do the pull-ups either.
03:40Well, in that case,
03:41perhaps you should join Tommy.
03:43Oh, okay.
03:45Alright, are you ready?
03:47Because I'm seriously about to do one.
03:49Seriously.
03:51Ow!
03:56Ugh, why were pull-ups even invented?
03:59I can't even hang here anymore.
04:00How are you not slipping?
04:03Oh.