A rare but devastating condition, affecting young males, could be effectively treated with steroids. Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the condition, can be treated with corticosteroids and steroid-administered patients can expect to walk for three additional years.

The magnitude of curvature and risk of scoliosis get reduced considerably when daily administration of steroids is made available to Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, as per Wendy King, a physical therapist in the neurology department at Ohio State University. It was also remarked that calcium supplements and bone mineral density test must be undertaken at intervals of 6-24 months because of implications associated with steroids.

From Medpagetoday.com:

The reason for non-treatment with steroids was invariably parent refusal because of fear of side effects, the researchers said. The average duration of steroid use was 8.04 years.

The study found:

* Boys on steroids were able to walk independently, on average, 3.3 years longer than those who weren’t treated. The difference — from 9.21 years to 12.52 years — was significant at P<0.0001.

* The prevalence of scoliosis in the treated boys was 31%, compared with 91% among those not getting steroids, a difference that was significant at P<0.0001.

* The average scoliotic curve was 11.6 degrees in the treated boys, compared with 33.2 degrees in the untreated boys, which was also significant at P<0.0001.

* On the other hand, 32% of the treated boys had vertebral compression fractures versus none in those not getting steroids, which was significant at P<0.0012.

* The yearly long-bone fracture rate was 0.088 among the treated boys, but only 0.033 in the untreated group, difference by a factor of 2.6, which was significant at P<0.0032.

Several factors probably play a role in the increased rate of long-bone fractures, the researchers said, including prolonged independent walking and increased body weight because of the steroids.

The finding was disclosed in a study supported by the General Clinical Research Center at the Ohio State University and the National Center of Research Resources of NIH.

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