DOI: 10.1097/01.NT.0000280856.78582.b5
,
Issn Print: 1533-7006
Publication Date: 2007/06/05
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
 |
Checking for direct PDF access through Ovid | |
Excerpt
The study, which was funded by the NIH National Center of Research Resources, confirmed smaller trials that concluded that boys treated with steroids stay on their feet longer, are physically stronger, and have better pulmonary function than untreated patients.
However, treatment was associated with significantly higher incidence of vertebral compression and long bone fractures, according to the May 8 study in Neurology (68:1607–1613).
The new findings were based on a review of medical records of 143 boys seen at the Ohio State University Muscular Dystrophy Clinic in Columbus, including 75 who had received corticosteroids for an average of eight years. The others had never been treated or had only received short courses of steroids in the past, said lead author Wendy M. King, PT, clinical assistant professor of neurology at the school's Neuromuscular Disease Center.
”Previous studies have shown that 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,” she said.
“The findings aren't new, but this is the largest cohort of young men to date and among patients taking corticosteroids for longer periods — eight years on average,” she told Neurology Today in a telephone interview.
