Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a case with prolonged survival

We report the case of a patient with confirmed Duchenne muscular dystrophy who lived a useful and improved life until age 34. He was first seen in our Muscular Dystrophy Clinic when he was 14; at that time he was functionally quadriplegic and required assistance for all activities of daily living. At age 17, ventilatory insufficiency developed and the patient was provided with a positive pressure device (mouthpiece) to augment his ventilation. A year later he learned the technique of glossopharyngeal breathing. After surviving acute pneumonia at age 24, he became a licensed real estate salesman and was married at age 29 to his attendant (the marriage ended in divorce). He eventually enrolled as a student at Ohio State University, lived on campus, and moved about in a powered wheelchair. He died an accidental death by drowning at age 34 when his wheelchair veered suddenly into a pond eight feet deep.