Although there is no cure for DMD at the moment, there are certain therapies and medicines to help alleviate symptoms and control related complications, providing an improved quality of life.  Treatments are aimed at the specific symptoms present in each individual case. The emphasis of the treatments will vary greatly at different stages in DMD course. Our neuromuscular team will recommend appropriate interventions for your child.

• Non-pharmacologic treatments
  In general, it is recommended that your DMD child to remain active and do frequent exercise, since inactivity can worsen the deterioration. However, it is important to consult with your doctor first, since too much physical activity as well as certain postures/exercises can make muscle damage worse.
  Therapy options should include physical therapy as well as active and passive exercise to build muscle strength and prevent contractures. Surgery may be recommended in some patients to treat contractures or scoliosis. Braces may be used to prevent the development of contractures. The use of mechanical aids (e.g., canes, braces, and wheelchairs) may become necessary to aid walking (ambulation). After loss of independent walking, breathing difficulties will emerge and get worsen. As DMD progresses, coughing will become less effective, manual and assisted cough techniques will be useful. With time, ventilator may be needed to assist better breathing.
• Pharmacologic treatments
  In terms of pharmacologic treatment, corticosteroids are used as standard of care to treat individuals with DMD. Common corticosteroid drugs used are Prednisolone and deflazacort. These drugs slow the progression of muscle weakness in affected individuals and delay the loss of ambulation by up to 1-3 years, maintain respiratory function, reduce risk of scoliosis and possibly delay progression of cardiomyopathy.  However, long-term use can result in significant side effects, such as weight gain, decreased bone density, behavioral abnormalities, cataracts and growth retardation.
  The use of other drug treatments (e.g. muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatory medications)  to alleviate muscle pain must also take into consideration their interactions with other medications and associated side effects, especially those that might affect cardiac or respiration function.Heart medications, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or beta blockers, may be used if muscular dystrophy damages the heart.
• Potential new treatments under research , testing and clinical trials
  While no cure yet exists for DMD, in the past 2 decades seen considerable R&D effort and progress leading to a number of potential treatment approaches – some address the underlying cause of DMD which is a lack of dystrophin, and others aims to fix the resulting symptoms caused by the lack of dystrophin in the muscle. These include gene therapy, exon skipping, ataluren, creatine, deacetylase inhibitors, myostatin inactivation, and cell therapy (myoblast treatment, and/or the use of stem cells).
  In 2016, Exondys 51 (eteplirsen) injection was approved by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat DMD and is the first drug approved for this condition. Exondys 51 is specifically indicated for patients who have a confirmed mutation of the dystrophin gene amenable to exon 51 skipping, which affects about 13 percent of the population with DMD, representing only a small sub-population of DMD.In 2017, Emflaza (deflazacort) was approved by FDA  to treat patients age 5 years and older with DMD.