Muscle Wasting News and Research

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Research findings suggest potential strategies to combat IBMPFD and other degenerative diseases

UCLA researchers have discovered the molecular basis of, and identified potential treatment for, an incurable disease known as inclusion body myopathy, Paget disease with frontotemporal dementia, or IBMPFD.

21 Mar 2017

Gene therapy treats myotubular myopathy in dogs

The rare disorder, called myotubular myopathy, or MTM, affects only males. It causes fatal muscle wasting. Both dogs and boys with the disease typically succumb in early life due to breathing difficulties.

16 Feb 2017

Duke Health researchers identify potential new drug target for Huntington's disease

The loss of motor function and mental acuity associated with Huntington's disease might be treatable by restoring a cellular quality control process, which Duke Health researchers have identified as a key factor in the degenerative illness.

13 Feb 2017

Study discovers new form of congenital muscular dystrophy caused by faulty INPP5K gene

A new form of congenital muscular dystrophy has been discovered which is caused by mutations in a previously un-linked gene.

9 Feb 2017

FDA approves first drug to treat children and adults with spinal muscular atrophy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Spinraza (nusinersen), the first drug approved to treat children and adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare and often fatal genetic disease affecting muscle strength and movement.

23 Dec 2016

TSRI scientists develop new methods to design precision medicines against disease-causing RNAs

Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have developed broad methods to design precision medicines against currently incurable diseases caused by RNA.

20 Dec 2016

Biologic drugs may help prevent progressive bone loss in patients with RA

A new review by the International Osteoporosis Foundation Chronic Inflammation and Bone Structure Working Group concludes that early and aggressive treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) with biologic drugs, specifically biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), may be most effective in halting progressive bone loss in patients with RA.

7 Nov 2016

New, practical tool may help doctors to easily diagnose cachexia in cancer patients

About one third of cancer patients die because of cachexia - an involuntary weight loss, characterized primarily by muscle wasting and metabolic changes, which cannot be addressed or treated solely with increased food intake.

7 Nov 2016

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to research oxygen deprivation

This expedition was a part of our clinical collaboration with the Mayo Clinic. In short, this particular study focused on the effect of altitude and aging on heart and lung function.

27 Oct 2016

Scientists find new target that may lead to future treatments for Kennedy's disease

If a disease affects motoneurons, cells that control voluntary muscle activity, researchers should focus their efforts on motoneurons to find potential treatments, right? Not always.

31 Aug 2016

Some WADA-banned substances may have potential medical applications

As the world awaits the start of the 2016 Summer Olympics, doping in athletes remains a hot topic.

4 Aug 2016

New gene therapeutic approach could save people suffering from muscle wasting disease

A discovery by Washington State University scientist Dan Rodgers and collaborator Paul Gregorevic could save millions of people suffering from muscle wasting disease.

27 Jul 2016

Researchers find link between clu and genes that cause Parkinson's disease

The fruit fly may help us be less clueless about human muscle development and Parkinson's disease.

22 Jun 2016

Researchers explore how ALS develops from muscle perspective

In an effort to better understand what happens during Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), researchers at Umea University in Sweden have compared the impact of ALS on the eye and limb muscles.

3 Jun 2016

Simple sarcopenia screening method could easily diagnose severity of heart disease

Researchers from Kumamoto University in Japan have shown that a simple screening method could quickly and easily diagnose the severity of heart disease. The method was originally developed to diagnose sarcopenia, a disease that causes a loss of muscle mass and strength.

19 May 2016

Unique mouse model could help study genetic origins and potential treatments for ALS

University of Florida Health researchers have developed a unique mouse model that will allow researchers around the world to better study the genetic origins and potential treatments for a neurodegenerative brain disease that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, and frontotemporal dementia.

22 Apr 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

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

New study examines antioxidant effects of pomegranate extract on cardiovascular risk factors

A new study assessing the antioxidant effects of pomegranate extract on cardiovascular risk factors and muscle function showed reductions in blood pressure and some atheroprotective benefits, but no effects on inflammation, oxidative strength, or muscle strength.

15 Dec 2015

UofL researchers discover mechanism involved in skeletal muscle repair

Researchers at the University of Louisville have discovered a mechanism involved in skeletal muscle repair that may enable clinicians to boost the effectiveness of adult stem cell therapies for diseases such as muscular dystrophy.

1 Dec 2015