A 5-Year-Old Boy with Equinus Walking: Clinical and Biochemical Improvement of Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy with a Chinese Patent Medicine, Liu Wei Di Huang Wan

A 5-year-old male presented with trouble walking. He had hypertrophic calves with positive Gower’s sign. CK was elevated at 12,000. Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy was diagnosed based on molecular DNA analysis of the dystrophin gene. As there was no known treatment, therapeutic trial of a Chinese herbal pill called Liu Wei Di Huang Wan was used. This is based on a 1000-year-old Chinese pediatrician’s formula for use in the 6 delays of child development in China. The patient improved clinically with regaining his walking skills and biochemical reduction of CK by 80%. Follow-up over a 15-year period showed periods of increased CK levels when the patient was not taking the pills or when suspected counterfeit pills were taken, Cardiomyopathy developed at age 20. Reduction of CK was indicative of biochemical efficacy. Further studies need to be done on this method of treatment.