Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Mice and Men

Duchenne muscular dystrophy mouse models have a predictable and reproducible time course of cardiomyopathy progression with discrete pathogenic steps, which closely parallel what we know occurs in the cardiomyopathy of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The slow progression of early pathogenic steps common to many cardiomyopathies may make Duchenne muscular dystrophy models useful for identifying novel treatment targets and testing the therapeutic value of new treatment paradigms for an at-risk patient population far beyond those with muscular dystrophies.