According to a study published in an issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, boys suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy can walk on their own for longer periods of time besides minimizing the risk of scoliosis after receiving daily steroid treatment for a continuous period of time.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which is believed to occur in one in every 3,500 boys, starts displaying its symptoms in the early childhood. However, there is no cure for this disorder.
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.
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.
King remarked that the benefits of steroids may come at the cost of some side effects and patients (children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) and parents must weigh the pros and cons of steroid treatments to make an informed decision.
