Physical therapy, braces, and corrective surgery may help with some symptoms while assisted ventilation may be required in those with weakness of breathing muscles. Outcomes depend on the specific type of disorder.A paper published by Stanford University on 10 March 2022 demonstrated that patients with muscular dystrophies could benefit from new therapies targeting the specific pathways contributing directly to muscle disorders. Three recent advances are likely to enhance the landscape of treatments for muscular dystrophies such as DMD. First, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) allow researchers to design effective treatment strategies. Second, artificial intelligence (AI) can help identify therapeutic targets. Third, a high volume of multi-omics data gathered from diverse sources through disease models can provide valuable information about converging and diverging pathways. Prognosis
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a rare progressive disease which eventually affects all voluntary muscles and involves the heart and breathing muscles in later stages. Life expectancy is estimated to be around 25–26, but this varies. With excellent medical care, affected men often live into their 30s. David Hatch of Paris, Maine, may be the oldest person in the world with the disease; as of 2021, he was 58.The most common direct cause of death in people with DMD is respiratory failure. Complications from treatment, such as mechanical ventilation and tracheotomy procedures, are also a concern. The next leading cause of death is cardiac-related conditions such as heart failure brought on by dilated cardiomyopathy. With respiratory assistance, the median survival age can reach up to 40.
Many mutations are responsible for DMD, and some have not been identified, so genetic testing may be falsely negative if the suspected mutation in the mother has not been identified.Prior to invasive testing, determination of the fetal sex is important; while males are sometimes affected by this X-linked disease, female DMD is extremely rare. This can be achieved by ultrasound scan at 16 weeks or more recently by free fetal DNA (cffDNA) testing. Chorion villus sampling (CVS) can be done at 11–14 weeks, and has a 1% risk of miscarriage. Amniocentesis can be done after 15 weeks, and has a 0.5% risk of miscarriage. Non invasive prenatal testing can be done around 10–12 weeks. Another option in the case of unclear genetic test results is fetal muscle biopsy. Treatment
No cure for DMD is known, and an ongoing medical need has been recognized by regulatory authorities. Gene therapy has shown some success.Treatment is generally aimed at controlling symptoms to maximize the quality of life which can be measured using specific questionnaires, and include:

Corticosteroids such as prednisolone and deflazacort lead to short-term improvements in muscle strength and function up to 2 years. Corticosteroids have also been reported to help prolong walking, though the evidence for this is not robust. Randomised control trials have shown that β2 agonists increase muscle strength, but do not modify disease progression. Follow-up time for most RCTs on β2 agonists is only around 12 months, hence results cannot be extrapolated beyond that time frame. Mild, nonjarring physical activity such as swimming is encouraged.