Copyright 2025 Stefan Venter, Upix Photography Ltd
Muscular Dystrophy UK has announced that it's investing £2 million into 13 new pioneering research projects across England and Northern Ireland, including funding a two-year project at the University of Portsmouth.
The leading charity for more than 110,000 children and adults in the UK, living with one of over 60 muscle wasting and weakening conditions, will be funding the new project at the University for the first time.
The project led by Professor Darek Gorecki from the University of Portsmouth, will explore the early stages of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) to help treat it sooner. The condition that mainly affects boys and young males, causes progressive muscle weakness and wasting and eventually leads to a loss of mobility.
This research will explore how the condition starts and whether treating it earlier could help slow it down or stop it. Professor Gorecki and his team will use frogs. As their young, called tadpoles, grow outside the body, this makes it easier to study early development. Frogs can be made to lack dystrophin, the protein that is missing in people with DMD.
This will allow the researchers to study how the condition affects muscles and the brain in the earliest stages. The team will also test a treatment earlier to see if it helps. This work could change when treatment should begin, potentially slowing or preventing muscle damage.
Professor Gorecki, from the University's School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences , said: "Although DMD is diagnosed in young boys, the disease starts during the body's early development. Thanks to the Muscular Dystrophy UK grant, I will be able to study these early changes. Understanding this could help us design more effective treatments, possibly even preventing severe dystrophic damage."
With the latest investment this brings the charity's total research commitment to almost £10 million. Across more than 25 conditions, it's now supporting 51 active projects that aim to deepen understanding, explore new treatments, improve care and make a meaningful difference to the lives of those living with muscle wasting and weakening conditions.
Muscle wasting and weakening conditions can affect anyone, no matter where they live. The charity is adding to its portfolio of research that now spans the UK, this will help to reach more people and communities. The charity has also awarded new funding to researchers in Belfast, Birmingham, London, Newcastle, Nottingham and Oxford.
Kate Adcock, Director of Research and Innovation at Muscular Dystrophy UK, said: "We're proud to be increasing our investment in research year after year - reaching new areas, exploring more conditions, and supporting a growing community of scientists. Our latest funding reflects that ambition, supporting research at the University of Portsmouth for the first time. By uncovering more about the earliest stages of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, this project could help uncover the best timing for treatment - while also helping to train the next generation through a dedicated PhD student."
