Which category includes gene therapy and exon skipping?

• A. Conventional pharmacology
• B. Surgical management
• C. Emerging treatments
• D. Lifestyle modification

Answer: (C)

Emerging therapies cover new approaches aimed at tackling muscular dystrophy at the genetic or molecular level. Gene therapy delivers a correct version of a faulty gene or otherwise modifies genetic function to address the root cause of the disease. Exon skipping uses targeted molecules to skip over faulty exons in the gene’s transcript, with the goal of restoring the reading frame and producing some functional protein. These strategies are not standard drugs (conventional pharmacology), nor are they purely surgical procedures or lifestyle changes; they represent newer, developing treatments that go beyond traditional management. That’s why gene therapy and exon skipping belong to emerging treatments. Some of these approaches have progressed into clinical use for specific mutations, illustrating their role as advancing, not conventional, options.