New research insights hold promise for kids with DMD

Prednisone, the current standard of care used to treat kids with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), reduces chronic inflammation but has harsh side effects. Eplerenone, a heart failure drug, is used in older patients to treat cardiomyopathy, a leading cause of mortality for people with DMD. A new medicine under development appears to combine the beneficial effects of these drugs for the heart and muscle while also showing improved safety in experimental models.