This month, MDA is launching a new U.S.-based symposium series to address important topics and ultimately to accelerate therapy development for neuromuscular diseases.

"MDA’s new symposium series is designed to address cutting-edge issues in neuromuscular disease research," said Sanjay Bidichandani, MDA's vice president of research. "Science is advancing at a rapid pace, and these small and focused meetings will allow us to be nimble in tackling multiple issues every year."

Decision making about preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a complex, multiphase process for couples, a new study has found. Understanding it, the investigators say, may be helpful to prospective parents who know they're at risk for transmitting a genetic disorder, and to the professionals who advise them.

The 2012 annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), held in New Orleans April 21-28, included findings related to limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) and distal muscular dystrophy.

Researchers in Italy and Japan, supported in part by MDA, have identified what they believe is a molecular "switch" that may be inappropriately activating several genes in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).

The Muscular Dystrophy Association has awarded $1,549,725 to ReveraGen BioPharma, a Rockville, Md., biotechnology company, for development of a dissociative glucocorticoid to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

An April 2012 podcast from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, explores the implications of a recently developed strategy for newborn screening for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

The podcast is part of a Nationwide Children's series called "This Month in Muscular Dystrophy."

Top scientists and clinicians from around the world are discussing the latest research in neuroscience, and the care of individuals with nerve and muscle diseases, at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in New Orleans, April 21-28.