How to treat Muscular Dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy is a disease affecting the muscular, as well as the central nervous system. Given this, it is essential for doctors to serve the right treatment once the disease is diagnosed. The treatment of muscular dystrophy depends entirely on the particular type the patient had developed.
Below are the various types of muscular dystrophy and the way each is treated.
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Duchenne muscular dystrophy, depending on the age of the patient, is usually treated with the right medical therapy. A recent study had shown that a possible treatment of this type of muscular dystrophy is through the use of an embryonic cell mass called somite, which has the ability to repair or dystrophin genes. As for drugs, anti-inflammatory medication, such as prednisone is useful. This drug has the ability to improve the strength of the patient’s muscles as we as delay the advancement of the disease.
Just like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Myotic Muscular Dystrophy is treated with drug therapy as well. Myotic affects the pupils, so the right medications for the eyes are required. Surgery may also be an option, but it is very rarely performed.
Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy Myotonic muscular dystrophy is characterized by the weakness of muscle groups, as well as problems in relaxation after the muscle contracts. Just like the two previous ones, drugs are the first line of treatment. The ones most commonly prescribed are mexiletine, phenytoin, carbamazepine, quinine, and procainemide. These drugs are used to address the delay in muscle relaxation as suffered by the patient.
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Becker Muscular Dystrophy is best treated with physical therapy. This type is very similar to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, although its progress is relatively slower. The disease mostly affects the upper legs and arms. Physical therapy aims to keep the joints flexible so that muscle contraction problems are addressed.
Distal muscular dystrophy can be treated with the use of assisting devices. This type of muscular dystrophy affects the forearms, hands, and lower legs. With the use of braces, the muscles and the tendons located on lower legs and hands are kept stretched and relatively flexible. Assisting devices are not limited to braces alone. It also includes canes, wheelchairs, and walkers, or anything a patient of muscular dystrophy uses to remain mobile.
For patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, surgery is mostly performed. Surgery is the option of doctors when the tendons have to be released because it becomes fixed at one place due to the disease. Surgery provides the relief for the pelvic and shoulder tendons, which are the exact body parts that are affected most by the Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy.
While these treatments are carried out to help relieve the symptoms associated with Muscular Dystrophy, there is currently no cure yet for the disease. Some doctors combine drug therapy with surgery and physical therapy to achieve significant results. Most of these therapies are performed to delay the advancement of the illness.
These treatments may also reduce the deformities associated with it and allow patients to be mobile for as long as they possibly can. Muscular Dystrophy can be a life threatening disease. And so the right treatment method should be sought and administered by a qualified health professional.