Neuromuscular Program

Physicians and researchers at Children's Hospital Boston conducted the original work that defined the genetic and molecular origins of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy, as well as the molecular abnormalities that cause several subtypes of congenital myopathies and limb-girdle muscular dystrophies.

There is a strong research component to our activities, and we offer enrollment in various clinical and laboratory studies to patients as appropriate, with the assistance of several certified genetic counselors and research assistants. The Neuromuscular Program maintains strong ties to the research laboratories of Louis M. Kunkel, PhD, and Alan H. Beggs, PhD, and is also a major site for several multicenter networks conducting clinical studies on muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy. All research participation is of course voluntary, and patient care is never affected by a family's decision to decline enrollment.