Mucopolysaccharidosis News and Research

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Mucopolysaccharidoses are a group of metabolic disorders caused by the absence or malfunctioning of lysosomal enzymes needed to break down molecules called glycosaminoglycans - long chains of sugar carbohydrates in each of our cells that help build bone, cartilage, tendons, corneas, skin and connective tissue. Glycosaminoglycans (formerly called mucopolysaccharides) are also found in the fluid that lubricates our joints.

Researchers receive NIH grant to help develop gene therapy for HIV

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $6.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a gene therapy that would modify the immune system's B cells to spur them to produce broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV.

18 Apr 2024

Adeno-associated virus: The gene therapy revolution faces manufacturing and safety hurdles

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV)-based genetic applications to treat human diseases.

5 Apr 2024

Gene therapy repairs neural connections in mice with Hurler syndrome

A new study from the University of Minnesota is the first to demonstrate the ability for gene therapy to repair neural connections for those with the rare genetic brain disorder known as Hurler syndrome.

21 Aug 2023

Penn Medicine and CHOP receive $26 million NIH grant to develop treatments for three rare genetic diseases

A Penn Medicine and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) team will seek to develop treatments for three rare, incurable genetic diseases with the help of a $26 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

1 Aug 2023

First rat model recapitulates all disabling alterations experienced by patients with Morquio A disease

A research team from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has generated the first rat model recapitulating all disabling alterations experienced by patients with Mucopolysaccharidosis type IVA, also known as Morquio A disease.

12 Sep 2021

Dying patients with rare diseases struggle to get experimental therapies

At 15, Autumn Fuernisen is dying. She was diagnosed at age 11 with a rare degenerative brain disorder that has no known cure or way to slow it down: juvenile-onset Huntington's disease.

14 Jul 2021

Researchers develop telomerase gene therapy for treating different pathologies

After several years of research and many joint scientific publications, molecular biologists Maria Blasco (National Cancer Research Centre, CNIO) and Fàtima Bosch (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, UAB) have developed a telomerase gene therapy for the treatment of different pathologies related to shortening telomeres and, therefore, ageing.

2 Dec 2020

Novel drug may be the answer in battling resistance in aggressive breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers in women across the globe. It represents one in four of all cancers in women. The survival rates for breast cancer vary across the globe, but when it comes to the metastatic or advanced breast cancer type, it is currently incurable, but there are many treatments available.

7 Oct 2019

Artificial intelligence can be used to efficiently diagnose rare diseases

Researchers at the University of Bonn show that using portrait photos in combination with genetic and patient data improves diagnoses.

6 Jun 2019

Mount Sinai joins with Paradigm and ReqMed to repurpose drug for treatment of MPS

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has entered into two exclusive licenses to develop the drug pentosan polysulfate sodium for and ReqMed Company, Ltd. of Japan.

21 Jan 2019

FDA grants Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for Immusoft’s Iduronicrin genleukocel-T

Immusoft Corporation, a Seattle-Wash.-based cell therapy company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted it Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPDD) for Iduronicrin genleukocel-T, Immusoft's Sleeping Beauty transposon-engineered autologous plasmablasts for the expression and delivery of alpha-L-iduronidase (IDUA) to treat Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I).

17 Oct 2018

Discovery of molecular nets may lead to new treatment approach for heart failure

Local researchers have discovered that a group of molecules, called chondroitin sulfate, normally found only in connective tissues such as the cartilage, accumulates and causes inflammation in the hearts of patients with heart failure.

31 Jan 2018

FDA approves drug to treat pediatric, adult patients with rare Sly syndrome

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Mepsevii (vestronidase alfa-vjbk) to treat pediatric and adult patients with an inherited metabolic condition called mucopolysaccharidosis type VII (MPS VII), also known as Sly syndrome. MPS VII is an extremely rare, progressive condition that affects most tissues and organs.

15 Nov 2017

FDA grants permission to market new Seeker System for screening rare metabolic disorders in newborns

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today permitted marketing of the Seeker System for the screening of four, rare Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSDs) in newborns.

3 Feb 2017

Researchers agree to test new stem cell gene therapy for Sanfilippo disease in human trial

Scientists in Manchester, who have developed a stem cell gene therapy to reverse a fatal childhood illness, have agreed to work with a new therapeutics company to test it in a human trial.

11 May 2016

FDA clears Sangamo BioSciences' SB-318 IND application for treatment of MPS I

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc., the leader in therapeutic genome editing, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the Company's Investigational New Drug (IND) application for SB-318, a single treatment strategy intended to provide a life-long therapy for Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I (MPS I).

8 Feb 2016

Gene therapy is key to addressing Sanfilippo Syndrome, say Ohio scientists and clinicians

Gene therapy is the delivery of DNA into a patient's cells to replace faulty or missing genes—or adds new genes—in an attempt to cure cancer or make changes so the body is better able to fight off disease. Scientists and clinicians have identified a number of different ways to do this, in an effort to correct malfunctioning or mutated genes. Many gene therapy clinical trials are ongoing to assess the safety and potential benefits in patients with rare diseases.

8 May 2015

FDA clears ArmaGen's AGT-182 IND application for treatment of Hunter syndrome

ArmaGen, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapies to treat severe neurological disorders, announced today that the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the company's lead product candidate, AGT-182 for the treatment of Hunter syndrome, has been accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is now active.

11 Dec 2014

Research finding opens door to potential treatment for MPS IIIB

MPS IIIB is a devastating and currently untreatable disease that causes progressive damage to the brain, leading to profound intellectual disability, dementia and death -- often before reaching adulthood.

30 Sep 2014

Shire, ArmaGen partner to develop AGT-182 drug for treatment of Hunter syndrome

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, and ArmaGen, a US privately held biotechnology company, today announced a worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement for AGT-182, an investigational enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for the potential treatment of both the central nervous system (CNS) and somatic manifestations in patients with Hunter syndrome (MPS II).

23 Jul 2014