Muscular Dystrophy News and Research

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The muscular dystrophies (MD) are a group of more than 30 genetic diseases characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of the skeletal muscles that control movement. Some forms of MD are seen in infancy or childhood, while others may not appear until middle age or later. The disorders differ in terms of the distribution and extent of muscle weakness (some forms of MD also affect cardiac muscle), age of onset, rate of progression, and pattern of inheritance.

MDI Biological Laboratory discover mechanisms underlying regeneration of heart tissue

The MDI Biological Laboratory has announced new discoveries about the mechanisms underlying the regeneration of heart tissue by Assistant Professor Voot P. Yin, Ph.D., which raise hope that drugs can be identified to help the body grow muscle cells and remove scar tissue, important steps in the regeneration of heart tissue.

10 Mar 2016

Long-term exercise may benefit Spinal Muscular Atrophy patients

Long-term exercise appears to be beneficial for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) like mice, suggesting a potential of active physiotherapy for patient care; according to a study published today in the Journal of Physiology.

6 Mar 2016

SBP study opens door for new approaches to treat muscle diseases

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have found a key to enhancing repair of damaged muscle. In work published today in Cell Reports, scientists describe why fetal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) are better at regenerating muscle compared to adult MuSCs.

19 Feb 2016

New approach could be used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Scientists at the UCLA Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and Center for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at UCLA have developed a new approach that could eventually be used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

14 Feb 2016

Duchenne muscular dystrophy: direct effect on muscle stem cells? An interview with Dr Rudnicki

For twenty years, it has been understood that dystrophin is expressed in differentiated muscle fibers where it is part of a protein complex that crosses the membrane and connects the extracellular matrix to the actin network inside the cell to provide structural integrity.

5 Feb 2016

Alternative splicing: a new approach to drug development? An interview with Lucy Donaldson

RNA is becoming an interesting drug target as it takes possible intervention back one step to the synthesis of a target protein, instead of trying to block or inhibit a process.

1 Feb 2016

Two studies shed new light on nature of tandem DNA repeat arrays

A pair of studies by a team of scientists has shed new light on the nature of a particular type of DNA sequences—tandem DNA repeat arrays—that play important roles in transcription control, genome organization, and development.

29 Jan 2016

New robotic arm could support daily activities of patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Researchers from the University of Twente's MIRA research centre, together with the VUmc, TU Delft and the Radboud umc, have developed the A-Gear: a robotic arm that can support the daily activities of people suffering the muscular disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

25 Jan 2016

NUS researchers develop EsoGlove that helps patients restore hand functions

Patients who have lost their hand functions due to injuries or nerve-related conditions, such as stroke and muscular dystrophy, now have a chance of restoring their hand movements by using a new lightweight and smart rehabilitation device called EsoGlove developed by a research team from the National University of Singapore.

12 Jan 2016

U-M research could lead to new ways of fighting X-linked diseases in girls and women

Nearly every girl and woman on Earth carries two X chromosomes in nearly every one of her cells -- but one of them does (mostly) nothing. That's because it's been silenced, keeping most of its DNA locked up and unread like a book in a cage.

11 Jan 2016

Leukaemia drug could slow progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

A drug commonly used to treat leukaemia is showing potential as a treatment that could slow the progression of the muscle-wasting condition, Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

6 Jan 2016

UT Southwestern scientists use new gene-editing technique to prevent progression of DMD in young mice

Using a new gene-editing technique, a team of scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center stopped progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in young mice.

4 Jan 2016

Researchers successfully use CRISPR to treat adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Researchers have used CRISPR to treat an adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This marks the first time that CRISPR has successfully treated a genetic disease inside a fully developed living mammal with a strategy that has the potential to be translated to human therapy.

4 Jan 2016

Researchers find new way to prevent or reduce pathologies caused by malformed proteins

Improperly formed proteins can cause a host of serious illnesses, from muscular dystrophy to cystic fibrosis. A question of enormous import in research, beyond the challenge of determining how malformed proteins contribute to specific disease processes, is figuring out ways to prevent or reduce the pathologies they cause.

16 Dec 2015

Cancer drug can neutralize toxic RNA that causes myotonic dystrophy

A group of researchers has shown for the first time in cells and in a mouse model that a drug used to treat cancer can neutralize the toxic RNA that causes the prolonged muscle contractions and other symptoms of myotonic dystrophy type 1, the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy.

11 Dec 2015

Muscular Dystrophy News and Research

Further Reading

MDI Biological Laboratory discover mechanisms underlying regeneration of heart tissue

Long-term exercise may benefit Spinal Muscular Atrophy patients

SBP study opens door for new approaches to treat muscle diseases

New approach could be used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy: direct effect on muscle stem cells? An interview with Dr Rudnicki

Alternative splicing: a new approach to drug development? An interview with Lucy Donaldson

Two studies shed new light on nature of tandem DNA repeat arrays

New robotic arm could support daily activities of patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

NUS researchers develop EsoGlove that helps patients restore hand functions

U-M research could lead to new ways of fighting X-linked diseases in girls and women

Leukaemia drug could slow progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

UT Southwestern scientists use new gene-editing technique to prevent progression of DMD in young mice

Researchers successfully use CRISPR to treat adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Researchers find new way to prevent or reduce pathologies caused by malformed proteins

Cancer drug can neutralize toxic RNA that causes myotonic dystrophy

UofL researchers discover mechanism involved in skeletal muscle repair

Could statins treat muscular dystrophy? An interview with Dr. Nick Whitehead and Dr Stan Froehner

Researchers use magic-angle-spinning NMR to unveil structure of CAP-Gly protein

Duchenne muscular dystrophy could directly affect muscle stem cells

Researchers identify factors that increase risk of cardiac arrest during pediatric spine surgeries

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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