Is corticosteroid therapy effective in the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy?
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A cochrane review by published in Jan 20081 concluded that there is evidence from randomised controlled studies that glucocorticoid corticosteroid therapy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy improves muscle strength and function in the short-term (six months to two years).
The most effective prednisolone regime appears to be 0.75 mg/kg/day, given daily. In the short term, adverse effects were significantly more common but not clinically severe. Long-term benefits and hazards of glucocorticoid treatment cannot be evaluated from the currently published randomised studies.
Non-randomised studies support the conclusions of functional benefits but also identify clinically significant adverse effects of long-term treatment. These benefits and adverse effects have implications for future research studies and clinical practice.
1. Manzur AY, Kuntzer T, Pike M, Swan A. Glucocorticoid corticosteroids for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 ;(1):CD003725. [pubmed]
