[Treatment of Duchenne's myopathy with early physiotherapy. Critical analysis]

The efficiency of a therapeutic modality in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is difficult to judge. The usual criterion used is the time period between the beginning of walking and its loss. Thirty-five patients treated with early intensive physiotherapy were compared with 28 untreated ones. On average, the prolongation of walking in the treated group was 8 months. However, average age of death was 18 years 8 months in treated patients and 20 years 2 months in untreated patients. In order to judge the benefits of a treatment it is absolutely essential to consider the whole of the evolution of the disease, without omitting the wheelchair bound stage when the most severe complications occur.