Muscular Dystrophy Animations

Discovery Of Genes And Disease Mechanisms Behind Muscular Dystrophy Could Lead To A Biomarker-Based Diagnostic Test
Continuing a series of groundbreaking discoveries begun in 2010 about the genetic causes of the third most common form of inherited muscular dystrophy, an international team of researchers led by a scientist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified the genes and proteins that damage muscle cells, as well as the mechanisms that can cause the disease...

Enzyme Function Could Help Find Muscular Dystrophy Therapies
Study reveals function of glycosylating enzyme involved in muscular dystrophy, brain development and infection by arenaviruses such as Lassa fever; ability to assay enzyme activity could help screen potential muscular dystrophy therapies Researchers at the University of Iowa have worked out the exact function of an enzyme that is critical for normal muscle structure and is i...

A Firmer Understanding Of Muscle Fibrosis In Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Researchers describe how increased production of a microRNA promotes progressive muscle deterioration in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), according to a study published online on January 2 in the Journal of Cell Biology*. As DMD patients age, their damaged muscle cells are gradually replaced by collagen-rich, fibrous tissue...

Grafting Of Human Spinal Stem Cells Into ALS Rats Best With Immunosuppressant Combination
A team of researchers grafting human spinal stem cells into rats modeled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," a degenerative, lethal, neuromuscular disease, have tested four different immunosuppressive protocols aimed at determining which regimen improved long-term therapeutic effects...

Safety Of Customized Gene Therapy Demonstrated By Clinical Trial For Muscular Dystrophy
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that it is safe to cut and paste together different viruses in an effort to create the ultimate vehicle for gene therapy. In a phase I clinical trial, the investigators found no side effects from using a "chimeric" virus to deliver replacement genes for an essential muscle protein in patients with muscular dystrophy...

Hope For Muscle Wasting Disease
A health supplement used by bodybuilders could be the key to treating a life-threatening muscular dystrophy affecting hundreds of Australian children, new research shows...

Discovery Helps Explain Progression Of Lou Gehrig's Disease, Offers New Therapy Approach
Researchers in Uruguay and Oregon have discovered a previously unknown type of neural cell that appears to be closely linked to the progression of amytrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, that they believe will provide an important new approach to therapies...

New Insight Into Fatal Spinal Disease Could Lead To Treatments For Muscular Dystrophy And ALS
Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a communication breakdown between nerves and muscles in mice that may provide new insight into the debilitating and fatal human disease known as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). "Critical communication occurs at the point where nerves and muscles 'talk' to each other...

Bioengineers Reprogram Muscles To Combat Degeneration
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have turned back the clock on mature muscle tissue, coaxing it back to an earlier stem cell stage to form new muscle. Moreover, they showed in mice that the newly reprogrammed muscle stem cells could be used to help repair damaged tissue...

Crucial Link Between Prions And ALS Discovered - May Transform Treatment
A group of investigators from the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have discovered a crucial link between prions and the neurodegenerative disease ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. This finding is considerable as it paves the way to new approaches to the treatment of ALS...

A Gene For Lou Gehrig's Disease And Frontotemporal Dementia Identified
Frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease -- two fatal neurodegenerative disease with distinct but sometimes overlapping symptoms -- are triggered by a common mutation in many cases, according to researchers who say they have identified the mutated gene...

New Class Of Stem Cell-Like Cells Discovered In Spinal Cord Offers Possibilities For Spinal Cord Repair
The Allen Institute for Brain Science announced today the discovery of a new class of cells in the spinal cord that act like neural stem cells, offering a fresh avenue in the search for therapies to treat spinal cord injury and disease...

Potential New Gene Therapy Takes Out "Toxic" Genes To Treat Muscular Dystrophy
Investigators at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital are studying a potential new treatment strategy for dominant forms of muscular dystrophy, thanks to preliminary funding from The Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science...

Two Genes That Cause Familial ALS Shown To Work Together
Although several genes have been linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), it is still unknown how they cause this progressive neurodegenerative disease. In a new study, Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have demonstrated that two ALS-associated genes work in tandem to support the long-term survival of motor neurons...

JCI Online Early Table Of Contents: Sept. 1, 2011
Activating your ABCs might help prevent AD (Alzheimer disease) Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia among older people. One of the main features of AD is the presence in the brain of abnormal clumps of the protein fragment beta-amyloid, which are known as amyloid plaques...