Groundbreaking Treatment For Muscular Dystrophy Held Up By FDA, Family Says

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SACRAMENTO (CBS13) A family is fighting for the life of their young son. He had been undergoing treatment, getting an experimental drug through a study at the UC Davis Medical Center. But that study has ended, and now they fear that he could lose his battle.

Ryan Dunne goes through the motions other 9-year-olds take for granted. He struggles, his muscles failing him more and more. He has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy; his muscles are wasting away.

Things are tough, he has a hard time getting up and down stairs, said Ryans mother, Jennifer Dunne.

As his muscles give out, its a near certainty the disease will rob Ryan of his mobility, and his life before hes 30.

Its a progressive disease. Every day he gets weaker, Jennifer said.

There was a time when the downward spiral slowed: When Ryans family was flying weekly from Colorado to Sacramento, taking part in a clinical trial with the UC Davis Health System.

DMD is actually is the most common form of muscular dystrophy in children. Its actually due to absence of one of the most common and ubiquitous proteins in the human body: dystrophen, Dr. Craig McDonald said.

Dr. McDonald heads Duchenne research at UC Davis. His team developed a six-minute walk test to gauge muscle strength. The test is now used worldwide.

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Groundbreaking Treatment For Muscular Dystrophy Held Up By FDA, Family Says