Boys with muscular dystrophy helped by daily steroid treatments

Boys living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy can walk on their own for longer durations of time apart from minimizing the risk of scoliosis after receiving their daily steroid treatments, as per a study published in an issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy affects one out of every 3,500 boys and is not curable till now even though it is believed that members of the medical and science fraternity will very soon be win this battle.

From News-Medical.Net:

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.

However, the study found those boys being treated with daily steroids had an increased risk of vertebral and leg fractures. Vertebral fractures occurred in 32 percent of the boys treated with steroids, whereas there were no fractures reported in the untreated group. Leg fractures were 2.6 times more common in the steroid-treated group. King said this may be due to increased body weight and that the treated boys walked longer than the untreated group.

It was remarked by King that patients (with Duchenne muscular dystrophy) and their parents must weigh the pros and cons of steroid treatments as the advantages of steroids do come at a cost of side effects.

Tags: daily steroid treatments, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, scoliosis, steroid, steroid treatments, Steroids

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