In the past, children with rapidly progressive neuromuscular scoliosis often underwent growth-stopping spinal fusion. Today, there are more options.
posted on January 7, 2013 - 10:51am
Payton Mueller's parents knew something was amiss by the time he was 9 months old.
A physical therapist discusses changes in equipment and activities that spine-straightening surgery will likely require
posted on January 7, 2013 - 9:27am
Tina Duong, a physical therapist at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., sees many children with neuromuscular disorders who undergo spine-straightening surgery.
Treatments such as noninvasive mechanical ventilation, ACE inhibitors and corticosteroids have modified the natural disease course of Duchenne MD, leading to increased life span
posted on November 19, 2012 - 5:00am
Findings from a study of 516 Italian boys show a significant improvement over the last six decades in survival time in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). This modified natural history (general disease course) of DMD, the study team reported, stems from the application of a comprehensive therapeutic approach that emphasizes respiratory and cardiac (heart) care.
A 29-year-old man with Duchenne MD has received a device to assist his heart's pumping ability
posted on October 16, 2012 - 4:17pm
A left ventricular assist device (LVAD), which helps the heart pump blood throughout the body, was implanted in the chest of a young man with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in September. The patient is 29-year-old Jason Williams, of Peebles, Ohio.
'Best practices' for treating various neuromuscular diseases are described in this third and final report on MDA's 2012 Clinical Conference
posted on April 19, 2012 - 6:00am
Several experts presented their views of "best practices" for care of people with neuromuscular disorders at MDA's 2012 Clinical Conference, held in Las Vegas March 4-7.
Many questions remain about optimal care in these disorders, but it's clear that attention to heart and respiratory function are of paramount importance.
This article looks at:
A challenging and multifaceted disease
posted on April 9, 2012 - 12:05pm
As far back as Carla Licon can remember, her mother had difficulty opening jars and walking long distances. Licon’s mother wore ankle braces, and she also had an unusual symptom known as "myotonia," the inability to relax muscles, such as a clenched hand, at will.
Licon, who is 31 and lives in Victoria, Texas, thinks these symptoms started when her mother was in her 20s. Later, her mother’s...
When scarring develops in the heart's conduction system, abnormal heart rhythms can develop, sometimes without the person recognizing that anything is wrong
posted on April 9, 2012 - 10:58am
In 2006, Ron Hayes was a 54-year-old executive at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati when he began noticing some weakness in his hands. "I was trying to clean my glasses," he remembers, "and my thumb couldn’t push the spray." A visit to a hand surgeon resulted in a referral to a neurologist and ultimately to a diagnosis of adult-onset MMD1.
