DMD and Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a rare X-linked inherited progressive neuromuscular dysfunction caused by pathogenic variations in the DMD gene encoding a rod-shaped protein called dystrophin, which provides an anchor between the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix resulting in proper muscular integrity and strength (Koenig et al., 1987; Kunkel et al., 1987).