Abu Dhabi: 3-year-old Emirati boy finds new hope after neurological treatment

Abu Dhabi: 3-year-old Emirati boy finds new hope after neurological treatment

He had been diagnosed with DMD, a rapidly progressive form of muscular dystrophy

Published: Tue 12 Apr 2022, 2:49 PM

A three-year-old Emirati boy, who faced difficulties in standing and walking due to a rare neurological disease, has been given a new hope following a new treatment by Abu Dhabi doctors.

Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) says it has used a new genetic therapy to successfully treat the Emirati boy suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

With the child facing difficulties with standing and walking, the parents brought the child to Seha’s Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) for a diagnosis.

After a series of comprehensive tests, doctors diagnosed him with DMD, a rapidly progressive form of muscular dystrophy. With the diagnosis, the child was referred to Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC), a SEHA healthcare facility, to access life-changing treatment.

DMD is a genetic disorder that causes progressive skeletal muscular weakness in children. If left without proper treatment, it can progress to affect the cardiac muscles and cause children to lose their ability to walk and develop scoliosis. This disease can also shorten the child’s life expectancy.

The new therapy - Amondys 45 - was provided for the first time in the UAE at SKMC to treat