Researchers developing new ‘DNA stitch’ to treat muscular dystrophy

A new therapeutic being tested by University of Alberta researchers is showing early promise as a more effective treatment that could help nearly half of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The treatment—a cocktail of DNA-like molecules—results in dramatic regrowth of a protein called dystrophin, which acts as a support beam to keep muscles strong. The protein is virtually absent […]

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CRISPR used to reduce symptoms of muscular dystrophy in mice models

A team of researchers from Canada, the U.S. and Sweden has found that editing a gene involved in producing proteins that promote muscle strength in muscular dystrophy mice models could reduce symptoms. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their experiments with mice and what they learned from them. Muscular dystrophy is an inherited condition in […]

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Spinal muscular atrophy drug may be effective if started later than previously shown

A drug shown to be effective in the treatment of babies with the rare muscle-wasting disease spinal muscular atrophy may be effective for muscle control even when treatment is started in children seven months and older, according to a study published in the August 29, 2018, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Previous […]

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