The Importance of Early Intervention in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Clinical Brief: Comprehensive Care and Treatment Selection in DMD

Main Discussion Topics

• Importance of multidisciplinary clinical care teams in DMD management
• Steroid therapy as foundational treatment regardless of mutation
• Mutation-specific approaches including exon skipping therapies
• Recent advances in antisense oligonucleotide delivery techniques
• Potential eligibility limitations for genetic therapies

Key Points for Physicians

• Early diagnosis and comprehensive care coordination remain fundamental to optimal outcomes
• Treatment selection increasingly dependent on specific genetic mutation analysis
• Recent advances in exon skipping technologies reported at MDA conferences show promise
• Benefits of exon skipping may take multiple years to become clinically apparent

Notable Insights

Some reports suggest cumulative benefits of exon skipping therapies increase over 2-4 years of treatment rather than showing immediate impact. Recent advances in antisense oligonucleotide delivery may substantially increase dystrophin production compared to current approved therapies.

Clinical Significance

Therapeutic approach selection increasingly requires detailed genetic characterization, with emerging technologies creating more personalized options for DMD management, though the landscape continues to evolve rapidly with significant advances in delivery methods.