About BIND
About BIND
The BIND Project was the first large-scale initiative focused on improving understanding of how the brain is affected in Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy (DMD and BMD). Funded by the European Union, the project brought together 18 research partners from across Europe and Japan to investigate an important but historically underexplored aspect of these conditions.
Since Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne de Boulogne first described Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in 1861, research has largely concentrated on muscle degeneration and weakness. However, growing evidence shows that dystrophinopathies can also affect brain development, cognition, and behaviour. The BIND Project aimed to address this gap by advancing knowledge of the neurological features associated with these disorders.
Although EU funding for the project concluded in June 2024, the work continues. BIND partners remain actively engaged in analysing the project’s findings and have established the BIND Association to sustain momentum and ensure long-term impact.
The BIND Association is dedicated to advancing research on brain involvement in dystrophinopathies. Its mission is to improve the characterisation and diagnosis of neurological and cognitive aspects of these conditions, while supporting the development of better therapeutic approaches for the associated comorbidities.
Goals:
- Localising the isoforms that the DMD locus produces in the brain and their function;
- Improve understanding of postnatal brain restoration of the different dystrophin isoforms using preclinical models;
- Defining the spectrum of brain comorbidities in DMD and BMD individuals, and how to best assess them;
- Creating optimal and uniform outcome measures to assess brain comorbidities in DMD and BMD.
The BIND Association is dedicated to uncovering the role of dystrophin in the brain, a protein that is absent in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and only partially functional in Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD). By developing new outcome measures, we aim to strengthen future clinical trials and encourage more comprehensive assessment and treatment of brain-related comorbidities. Ultimately, the BIND Association seeks to advance understanding of dystrophin’s role in the brain, paving the way for improved treatments, care, and outcomes for people living with DMD and BMD.
BIND Association Members
- University College London, United Kingdom
- World Duchenne Organization, Netherlands
- Stichting Kempenhaeghe, Netherlands
- Duchenne Data Foundation, Netherlands
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
- Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
- Universite de Versailles Sant Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
- Neuro-PSI, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France
- Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands
BIND Project Partners
- University College London, United Kingdom
- Consorzio Futuro in Ricerca, Italy
- Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands
- Region Hovestaden, Denmark
- University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
- National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Japan
- Neuro-PSI, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France
- Universite de Versailles Sant Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
- Stichting Kempenhaeghe, Netherlands
- Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
- Imagine Institut des Maladies Genetiques Necker Enfants Malades Fondation, France
- Transpharmation Ireland Limited, Ireland
- Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust GOSH, United Kingdom
- World Duchenne Organization, Netherlands
- Synthena, Switzerland
- Duchenne Data Foundation, Netherlands
- Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
