Research News
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February 04, 2011
The Muscular Dystrophy Association has awarded 44 grants totaling $13.5 million to support research efforts aimed at advancing understanding of disease processes and uncovering new strategies for
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February 04, 2011
MDA has awarded eight new grants totaling nearly $2.5 million to fund research projects focused on uncovering the causes of, and developing therapies for, ALS. The effective start date for the grants
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February 02, 2011
Isis Pharmaceuticals hosted an interactive webinar Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at 12 noon Eastern Standard Time, to help prospective participants understand its MDA-supported, phase 1 study of ISIS-
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January 28, 2011
Although it’s clear that people with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies should be closely monitored and treated by heart specialists, doctors and researchers at a recent MDA-sponsored meeting
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January 26, 2011
Researchers at the University of Michigan are seeking 30 young adults, ages 18-29, who have had symptoms of certain forms of muscular dystrophy or myopathy since birth, to complete an online survey
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January 25, 2011
Researchers conducting a clinical trial of the antibiotic ceftriaxone in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) currently are recruiting participants at 57 locations across the United States and Canada
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January 18, 2011
Experts from around the world will gather Jan. 21-22, 2011, at an MDA-sponsored conference about the heart in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
With improvements in the care of people with DMD, life
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January 18, 2011
A new study to determine the best "outcome measure" (measurable activity) with which to assess thigh-muscle (quadriceps) strength in men with Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) is seeking participants.
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January 14, 2011
MDA has begun funding tests of the experimental drug ACE-031 in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The drug is being developed by Acceleron Pharma, a Cambridge, Mass., biotechnology
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January 13, 2011
A January 2011 podcast from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, probes a subject that's been on the minds of many researchers, doctors and families: autoimmunity (self-immunity) in
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January 11, 2011
A team of scientists working in the United States and Italy has uncovered a variant in the gene for a protein called osteopontin that appears to reliably indicate disease severity in most (but likely
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January 01, 2011
A biomarker is any biological indicator that doctors or researchers can objectively measure and evaluate to determine the state of an individual’s health; confirm disease onset and progression; or
January 01, 2011
A biomarker is any biological indicator that doctors or researchers can objectively measure and evaluate to determine an individual’s health.
Examples of common biomarkers include body temperature
January 01, 2011
Sildenafil helps heart in mice lacking dystrophin
Researchers have found that treatment with sildenafil (Viagra) conferred long-term protection against cardiac dysfunction in young mice with a
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January 01, 2011
Letters to Quest: FSHD research progress * Still seeking justice * Workers’ compensation reduced due to pre-existing neuromuscular disease * Jerry Lewis and the MDA Telethon * Learning about
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January 01, 2011
“It never made sense to me that ALS spreads,” says Marc Diamond, an associate professor of neurology at Washington University in St. Louis. “Why don’t just a few cells die, and that’s it?” That’s a
December 31, 2010
FDA approves emotional-expression medication
Nuedexta is now approved to treat unwanted episodes of laughing or crying (PBA) that sometimes occur in association with ALS.
Avanir Pharmaceuticals
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December 29, 2010
Editor's note 2/7/11: A link to the Tivorsan Pharmaceuticals website has been added.
Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies
Scientists have found that systemically injecting the human form of a
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December 29, 2010
Spirulina supplement seems to help ALS mice
A study of 15 mice with a genetic mutation that causes an ALS-like disease suggests that the nutritional supplement spirulina may have some protective
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December 27, 2010
Editor's note 2/7/11: This article was updated to reflect that Pallavi Anand is the primary coordinator for the Missouri site.
Finding out whether or not an experimental treatment helps individuals
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December 22, 2010
A multinational study group, using cutting-edge "exome sequencing" technology, has uncovered five mutations in the valosin-containing protein (VCP) gene and implicated them as molecular causes of
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December 21, 2010
New insights and perspectives on the biology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), best practices in the care of individuals with the disease, and future directions for development of ALS therapies
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December 16, 2010
People with genetic neuromuscular diseases who want to “do something for science” now have a way to do so, although they’re unlikely to ever know the results of their good deed.
Scientists at the
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December 15, 2010
A large-scale, phase 3 trial of idebenone (Catena) in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is now open at one U.S. site and several sites in Europe, under the auspices of Santhera Pharmaceuticals.
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December 15, 2010
MDA has awarded a $1.4 million grant to the biopharmaceutical company Repligen Corp. to help advance the company’s experimental drug for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) to phase 1 human clinical trials
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