Main menu Search form Blog - There is so much that we can do to treat patients! This afternoon at the meeting was really inspiring to me! It focused on all the things that we CAN do for patients with neuromuscular diseases (NMDs) . I spend much of my life in a world of drug development, where progress, however exciting, can seem slow. However, there is so much that we already can do for patients. We spent a lot of the afternoon talking about specific symptoms of NMDs, and what we can do about them. Dr. Beth McNally emphasized that we really need to make sure that a patient has the right diagnosis -- for example, some muscular dystrophies are commonly associated with one type of heart issue, while others are associated with a different one entirely (and some have no issues with the heart at all). Once a physician knows the precise disease that the patient has, it is much easier to monitor for the right kind of issue -- and perhaps prevent issues from developing by treating early. She discussed all of the different drugs that are available to treat different types of issues with the heart, and when and why they should be used. She discussed the importance of monitoring patients, so that they can get the right care when they need it, and noted that early use of an ACE inhibitor had a positive effect in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Breathing is another important issue for NMDs.