News

Researchers have developed a new gene therapy for muscle wasting conditions, and are now working to bring into clinical use through a newly formed biotech venture. The study describing the method, “Smad7 gene delivery prevents muscle wasting associated with cancer cachexia in mice,” published in the journal…

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) are joining forces this summer to support efforts to find much-needed treatments, and possibly a cure, for muscular dystrophy (MD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other muscle-degenerative diseases. Members of…

PTC Therapeutics has provided global regulatory updates on its lead product candidate Translarna (ataluren) for treating nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD) and nonsense mutation cystic fibrosis (nmCF). According to the National Institutes of Health Genetics Home Reference, a nonsense mutation is a change in one DNA base pair…

The Child Neurology Foundation (CNF) recently published a statement in the journal Neurology to address the role of neurologists in transferring pediatric patients into the adult healthcare system. The statement was published in July 27 issue under the title “The neurologist’s role in supporting transition to adult health care:…

Two British physiotherapists invited to speak at a July 20 event at the Houses of Parliament in London by Muscular Dystrophy UK, informed the Parliament and commissioners about a serious shortage throughout the U.K. of physiotherapy for people with muscle-wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy. Specialist neuromuscular physiotherapists Gita Ramdharry and…

The protein product of a gene called AUF1 determines whether muscle stem cells maintain the ability to regenerate muscles lost by injury or as a result of aging or disease, according to a study conducted on mice by researchers at New-York University (NYU), Langone Medical Center and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

California Stem Cell Agency (CIRM) awarded a total of $2,150,400, to scientists at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and the Center for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at UCLA, for a cutting-edge stem cell gene therapy research project that could produce a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (MD).

A protein known as integrin may play a key role in muscle tissue growth after injury or disease, a finding that could potentially lead to therapeutic targets for muscular dystrophy (MD). The study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers, “Targeting β1-integrin signaling enhances regeneration in aged and dystrophic muscle…

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has just issued new guidance recommending Translarna (ataluren) for children older than 5 who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The guidance, titled “Ataluren for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy with a nonsense mutation in the dystrophin gene,” follows the…

Duchenne UK is launching a new video fundraising and awareness campaign for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) called ‘The World’s Strongest Boys’. The campaign is already supported by British sports celebrities including Jessica Ennis-Hill and Owen Farrell to help boys living with DMD think like heroes by focusing on…