Muscle Wasting News and Research

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Encouraging results from exon skipping gene-based therapy study for DMD

Scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London have reported encouraging results in a new gene-based therapy for Duchenne Muscular dystrophy (DMD) which at present has no known cure and affects one in 3,000 young boys.

4 Jan 2011

Researchers investigate ways to counteract unhealthy effects of fat

A fat yet muscular mouse is helping researchers learn whether more muscle improves the cardiovascular health of obese individuals. We are looking for ways to counteract the unhealthy effects of fat, said Dr. David Stepp, vascular biologist at the Medical College of Georgia Vascular Biology Center and co-director of MCG's Diabetes & Obesity Discovery Institute.

23 Nov 2010

GTx third quarter net loss decreases to $8.6 million

GTx, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2010. The net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2010 was $8.6 million compared with a net loss of $12.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. For the nine months ended September 30, 2010, GTx reported net income of $22.8 million compared with a net loss of $35.4 million for the same period in 2009.

9 Nov 2010

Kennedy Krieger Institute launches phase II clinical trial to investigate Revatio for DMD treatment

Kennedy Krieger Institute announced today the launch of a first‐of‐its‐kind, phase II clinical trial to investigate a treatment for heart disease in individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

13 Oct 2010

Amino acid mixture increases survival in mice

When mice are given drinking water laced with a special concoction of amino acids, they live longer than your average mouse, according to a new report in the October issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. The key ingredients in the supplemental mixture are so-called branched-chain amino acids, which account for 3 of the 20 amino acids (specifically leucine, isoleucine, and valine) that are the building blocks of proteins.

6 Oct 2010

Cachexia reduces function and changes muscle structure of heart in mice with colon cancer

The wasting disease associated with some cancers that is typically seen affecting skeletal muscles can also cause significant damage to the heart, new research in mice suggests.

9 Sep 2010

Muscle mass plays key role in cancer survival: Research

In the vast majority of patients with advanced cancer, their muscles will gradually waste away for reasons that have never been well understood. Now, researchers reporting in the August 20 issue of Cell, a Cell Press Publication, have found some new clues and a way to reverse that process in mice. What's more, animals with cancer that received the experimental treatment lived significantly longer, even as their tumors continued to grow.

20 Aug 2010

GTx second-quarter net loss increases to $12.9 million

GTx, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2010. The net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 was $12.9 million compared with a net loss of $11.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. The net loss for the second quarter of 2010 included a $1.7 million non-cash impairment charge related to the conclusion of the Phase III clinical trial of toremifene 20 mg.

9 Aug 2010

Exercise, restricted-calorie diets help to stave off mental, physical degeneration of aging: Research

Harvard University researchers have uncovered a mechanism through which caloric restriction and exercise delay some of the debilitating effects of aging by rejuvenating connections between nerves and the muscles that they control.

3 Aug 2010

Patients with malignant gastrointestinal disease show high prevalence of malnutrition

Malnutrition is an important factor, influencing both morbidity and recovery after surgery. The early detection of nutritional risk would allow early intervention, which may prevent later complications. A traditional nutritional assessment often includes dietary and medical evaluations to identify significant weight loss over time, significantly low or high body weight(BW), skinfold thickness, serum nutritional factor levels and functional measurements of muscle strength.

31 Jul 2010

CSHL scientists reverse symptoms of Type III SMA using ASOs

The devastating, currently incurable motor-neuron disease spinal muscular atrophy might soon be treated with tiny, chemically modified pieces of RNA called antisense oligonucleotides.

13 Jul 2010

Ostarine increases muscle mass and strength in postmenopausal women: Study

GTx, Inc. announced that Ostarine (GTx-024, formerly MK-2866) increased lean body mass and leg press strength in a head to head study evaluating Ostarine and another selective androgen receptor modulator, MK-3984, in postmenopausal women. The data were presented yesterday at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society. GTx is developing its lead SARM, Ostarine, for the treatment of cancer induced muscle wasting (cancer cachexia).

21 Jun 2010

GTx presents quality of life results from Ostarine Phase IIb study in cancer cachexia patients at ASCO 2010

GTx, Inc. today presented additional results from the Ostarine™ Phase IIb study demonstrating an improvement in quality of life (fatigue and anorexia) in cancer patients with muscle wasting (cancer cachexia) who demonstrated improvement in functional performance as measured by stair climb. Ostarine (GTx-024) is GTx's lead selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) which the company is developing for the treatment of cancer cachexia.

8 Jun 2010

Highlights from June 2010 issue of American Journal of Pathology

Dr. Kanneboyina Nagaraju and colleagues at the Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC demonstrate that affected muscle may directly contribute to inflammation in muscular dystrophy. Their report can be found in the June 2010 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

26 May 2010

GTx reports top line results from toremifene Phase III clinical trial for prostate cancer

GTx, Inc. today announced top line results of the Phase III clinical trial evaluating toremifene 20 mg, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, for the prevention of prostate cancer in men with high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, or PIN, a premalignant lesion of the prostate.

26 May 2010

NMES may reduce muscle atrophy in patients with severe COPD: Researchers

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation may reduce muscle atrophy in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to Canadian researchers.

18 May 2010

New theory on muscle and bone diseases

Traditionally, doctors and clinicians thought diseases that affect muscles or bones affected those areas specifically. For example, bone diseases only affect bones, or muscle diseases only concerned muscles. But recent evidence supports the notion that bones and muscles are more interconnected than previously thought.

29 Apr 2010

Ligand Pharmaceuticals' LGD-4033 SARM Phase I study data featured at 14th endocrinology congress

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that data from a Phase I study with its selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) LGD-4033 was featured today in a poster presentation at the 14th International Congress of Endocrinology in Kyoto, Japan. This Phase I clinical trial was the first study in humans of LGD-4033, and evaluated the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic profiles of the molecule in a single escalating dose, double blind, placebo-controlled study in 48 healthy volunteers.

29 Mar 2010

BeaconEquity.com: AVI BioPharma's revenues for fourth-quarter of 2009 are $5.1M

BeaconEquity.com announces an investment report featuring biotech company AVI BioPharma Inc. The report includes financial, comparative and investment analyses, and pertinent industry information you need to know to make an educated investment decision.

18 Mar 2010

Workings of IGFs on muscle cells

The muscle-building abilities of hormones known as insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are legendary. Just do an online search and you'll find not only scientific papers discussing the effects of IGFs on the cells that give rise to muscle tissue, but also scores of ads touting the purported benefits of IGF supplements for bodybuilding.

16 Mar 2010