Evidence mapPaperPMID 31599456Full record

SynthesisMuscle & nerve2020

Deflazacort vs prednisone treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy: A meta-analysis of disease progression rates in recent multicenter clinical trials.

Craig M McDonald, Gautam Sajeev, Zhiwen Yao, Erin McDonnell, Gary Elfring, Marcio Souza, Stuart W Peltz, Basil T Darras, Perry B Shieh, David A Cox and 3 more

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Muscle & nerve, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  8. Targeting cellular senescence in dystrophinPharmacological research · 2025
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  20. Current Strategies of Muscular Dystrophy Therapeutics: An Overview.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2023
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.

Craig M McDonaldPhysical Medicine and Rehabilitation Pediatrics, University of California Davis Health System, Sacramento, California.
Gautam SajeevAnalysis Group, Inc, Boston, Massachusetts.
Zhiwen YaoAnalysis Group, Inc, Boston, Massachusetts.
Erin McDonnellAnalysis Group, Inc, Boston, Massachusetts.
Gary ElfringPTC Therapeutics, Inc, South Plainfield, New Jersey.
Marcio SouzaPTC Therapeutics, Inc, South Plainfield, New Jersey.
Stuart W PeltzPTC Therapeutics, Inc, South Plainfield, New Jersey.
Basil T DarrasDepartment of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Perry B ShiehNeurology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
David A CoxEli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana.
John LandryEli Lilly and Company, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
James SignorovitchAnalysis Group, Inc, Boston, Massachusetts.
ACT DMD Study Group and the Tadalafil DMD Study Group
Analysis Group (United States) · USPTC Therapeutics (United States) · USBoston Children's Museum · USEli Lilly (Canada) · CAEli Lilly (United States) · USUniversity of California, Davis · USUniversity of California, Los Angeles · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionIn this study we characterized disease progression over 48 weeks among boys receiving deflazacort vs prednisone/prednisolone placebo arm treatment in two recent Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) clinical trials.

methodsAmbulatory boys with DMD receiving placebo in the phase 3 ataluren (N = 115) and tadalafil (N = 116) trials were included. The trials required at least 6 months of prior corticosteroid use and stable baseline dosing. Associations between corticosteroid use and 48-week changes in ambulatory function were estimated using mixed models. Adjusted differences between corticosteroid groups were pooled in a meta-analysis.

resultsIn the meta-analysis, deflazacort-treated patients vs prednisone/prednisolone-treated patients experienced, on average, lower declines of 28.3 meters on 6-minute walk distance (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.7, 50.9; 2.9 seconds on rise from supine [95% CI, 0.9, 4.9 seconds]; 2.3 seconds on 4-stair climb [95% CI, 0.5, 4.1 seconds]; and 2.9 [95% CI, 0.1, 5.8] points on the North Star Ambulatory Assessment linearized score). DISCUSSION: Deflazacort-treated patients experienced significantly lower functional decline over 48 weeks.

Indexed as

Anti-Inflammatory AgentsChildDisease ProgressionHumansMaleMulticenter Studies as TopicMuscular Dystrophy, DuchennePrednisolonePrednisonePregnenedionesRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeWalkingAnti-Inflammatory AgentsdeflazacortPrednisolonePrednisonePregnenedionesambulatory functiondeflazacortDuchenne muscular dystrophymeta-analysisprednisone/prednisolone

Identifiers

PMID31599456
PMCPMC6973289
OpenAlexW2979393210

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.