Boys with DMD can now walk for longer
According to results of a recent study, boys with DMD (Duchenne muscular dystrophy) can now expect to walk for longer without any assistance and on their own after getting themselves treated with daily steroid treatment. It was remarked during this study that steroid treatment can also prove to be an effective option for minimizing the risk of scoliosis to a significant extent.
The results were part of a published study in an issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
From News-Medical.Net:
For the study, researchers reviewed records of 143 boys seen at the Ohio State University Muscular Dystrophy Clinic in Columbus. Of the group, 75 had been treated with corticosteroids for an average of eight years and the rest of the boys had never been treated or had received a brief dose of steroids.
The study found boys who were treated with daily steroids walked by themselves 3.3 years longer than the untreated boys and had a lower rate of scoliosis, 31 percent compared to 91 percent.
“Previous studies have shown steroids improve strength and function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but this is the first study to show the long-term impact and how treated boys are able to walk longer on their own,” said study author Wendy King, PT, with the Department of Neurology at Ohio State University Medical Center, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.
It was, however, remarked that these benefits may come at the cost of some associated side effects and doctors recommending steroid treatment to boys suffering from DMD must be extra careful and make sure that the benefits outweigh side effects by a considerable extent.
