Nutraceuticals and Their Potential to Treat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Separating the Credible from the Conjecture.
In recent years, complementary and alternative medicine has become increasingly popular. This trend has not escaped the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy community with one study showing that 80% of caregivers have provided their Duchenne patients with complementary and alternative medicine in conjunction with their traditional treatments. These statistics are concerning given that many supplements are taken based on purely "anecdotal" evidence. Many nutraceuticals are thought to have anti-inflammatory or anti-oxidant effects. Given that dystrophic pathology is exacerbated by inflammation and oxidative stress these nutraceuticals could have some therapeutic benefit for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). This review gathers and evaluates the peer-reviewed scientific studies that have used nutraceuticals in clinical or pre-clinical trials for DMD and thus separates the credible from the conjecture.
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville 3052, Australia. kerynwoodman@icloud.com.|Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia. kerynwoodman@icloud.com.
Keryn G
KG
Woodman
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville 3052, Australia. chantal.coles@mcri.edu.au.
Chantal A
CA
Coles
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville 3052, Australia. shireen.lamande@mcri.edu.au.|Department of Pediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia. shireen.lamande@mcri.edu.au.
Shireen R
SR
Lamandé
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville 3052, Australia. jasondw@unimelb.edu.au.|Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia. jasondw@unimelb.edu.au.
Jason D
JD
White
D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D017712:Peer Review, Research / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000975:Antioxidants
Becker muscular dystrophy; Duchenne muscular dystrophy; mdx; muscle; nutraceuticals