IL1B and Duchenne muscular dystrophy: It was previously shown that DMDmdx rats demonstrate the features of cardiomyopathy at 9 months old, such as reduced cardiac function and increased expression of pro-inflammatory mediators including IL-1β, suggesting that the DMDmdx rat is a promising model to characterize DMD-associated inflammation and, eventually, its role in the progression of cardiomyopathy [15].