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.

How loss or mutation of LMNA gene causes Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy

Mutations in the nuclear intermediate filament lamin A/C (LMNA) gene are associated with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, but cause the disease by unknown mechanisms.

5 Jan 2009

Laminin-111 shows potential for congenital muscular dystrophy

Current research suggests laminin, a protein that helps cells stick together, may lead to enhanced muscle repair in muscular dystrophy.

1 Jan 2009

Single adult stem cell can self-renew in a mammal

The first demonstration that a single adult stem cell can self-renew in a mammal was reported at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting, Dec. 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco.

14 Dec 2008

When is a gun a medical device?

Reports from the United States that authorities there have approved a handgun designed for those crippled by conditions such as arthritis and muscular dystrophy have given rise to confusion and debate.

9 Dec 2008

Alternative splicing proteins prompt heart development

Just as the emotions it represents are dynamic, the heart's development requires dynamic shifts in proteins that prompt alternative spicing, a mechanism that allows a given gene to program the cell to make several proteins, said a group of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

8 Dec 2008

MG53 protein found to be a key initiator of membrane repair in damaged tissue

The study, released in Nature Cell Biology, is the first to specifically pinpoint a protein responsible for promoting cell repair.

3 Dec 2008

Scientists gain new insights into regulation of calpains

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have gained new insights into regulation of one of the body's enzyme workhorses called calpains.

19 Nov 2008

Scientists discover new compounds to target muscular dystrophy

Using a drug-discovery technique in which molecules compete against each other for access to the target - the strand of toxic RNA that causes the most common form of muscular dystrophy in adults - a team at the University of Rochester Medical Center has identified several compounds that, in the laboratory, block the unwanted coupling of two molecules that is at the root of the disease.

19 Nov 2008

Advances in use of stem cells for tissue regeneration

A major issue in the development of regenerative medicine is the cell sources used to rebuild damaged tissues.

7 Nov 2008

Adding protein sarcospan to muscle cells might help Duchenne muscular dystrophy

The overlooked and undervalued protein, sarcospan, just got its moment in the spotlight.

4 Nov 2008

Exercise-induced fatigue in muscular dystrophies, study points to potential new therapies

A University of Iowa study suggests that the prolonged fatigue after mild exercise that occurs in people with many forms of muscular dystrophy is distinct from the inherent muscle weakness caused by the disease.

26 Oct 2008

New type of gene manipulation therapy offers hope for Duchenne muscular dystrophy sufferers

A medical research team at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte headed by Qi Long Lu, M.D., Ph.D., has made a discovery that holds promise to restore muscle function in patients afflicted by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

21 Sep 2008

Muscle stem cell identity confirmed

A single cell can repopulate damaged skeletal muscle in mice, say scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who devised a way to track the cell's fate in living animals. The research is the first to confirm that so-called satellite cells encircling muscle fibers harbor an elusive muscle stem cell.

17 Sep 2008

URMC & NIH partner to expand, accelerate clinical research in neurological diseases

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke are hosting a week-long training session designed to create a new generation of researchers with the specialized skills necessary to conduct clinical trials in neurological disorders.

14 Aug 2008

Olympic doping - scientists race to stay ahead of the drug-taking and genetic manipulation

The race to ensure that scientists stop drug-taking athletes from damaging sport by using performance enhancing drugs or undergoing genetic manipulation is a constant challenge, according to a major four-decade review by three of the World's leading experts on doping in sport.

29 Jul 2008

Proof-of-concept that purified muscle stem cells can be used in therapy

By injecting purified stem cells isolated from adult skeletal muscle, researchers have shown they can restore healthy muscle and improve muscle function in mice with a form of muscular dystrophy. Those muscle-building stem cells were derived from a larger pool of so-called satellite cells that normally associate with mature muscle fibers and play a role in muscle growth and repair.

10 Jul 2008

Scientists view tiny fibers of working muscles in live humans with microendoscopy technique

Using an unusual microscope with a tip the size of a needle, Stanford researchers are now able to look at tiny fibers of working muscles in live humans, with minimum discomfort to the patient-a development patients are sure to welcome.

10 Jul 2008

Advances in RNA research

RNA, the transporter of genetic information within the cell, has emerged from the shadow of DNA to become one of the hottest research areas of molecular biology, with implications for many diseases as well as understanding of evolution. But the field is complex, requiring access to the latest equipment and techniques of imaging, gene expression analysis and bioinformatics, as well as cross-pollination between multiple scientific disciplines.

10 Jul 2008

Risk factors for sudden death for adult muscular dystrophy identified

The largest assessment of people with adult muscular dystrophy has identified risk factors that can lead to sudden death for individuals with the most common form of this disease.

19 Jun 2008

Fluorescent-probe in worm creates real-time "view" of cellular stress

Scientists at the University at Buffalo have created a mutant worm that changes color when it moves. The color change is generated by an optical sensor called stFRET. The sensor is composed of a pair of fluorescent molecules connected by a molecular spring that is inserted into structural proteins in the worm's cells.

16 Jun 2008