This year, we asked a few students for their interests and feelings about the summer school of myology.

 

Vanessa Van der Linden (upper picture) comes from Recife, Brazil and Monika Ostrowska (on the lower picture) comes from Krakow, Poland.
> Watch

From the 7th edition (2004), we keep some details of each edition : some elements on students and lecturers (2006), interviews (2005, 2008), and, for the first time for the 10th édition in 2007, a yearbook meant to carve some fond memories in participants' minds.

Researchers from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have produced a robust new collection of disease-specific stem cell lines, all of which were developed using the new induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) technique. The new iPS lines, developed from skin and bone marrow cells of patients ranging in age from one month to 57-years old will be deposited in a new HSCI iPS Core laboratory being established at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and will be made available to researchers worldwide. The cell lines the researchers produced carry the genes or genetic components for 10 different diseases, including Parkinson’s Disease, Type I diabetes, Huntington’s Disease, Gaucher’s Disease, and two forms of Muscular Dystrophy. The researchers hope to add other disease-specific lines to the depository. This marks an important achievement and a very significant advance for patients suffering from degenerative diseases. The most immediate application of the disease-specific stem cells will be to reproduce human diseases in culture to explore their development in different tissues. The technique will even enable researchers to compare how the same disease varies among people, by generating disease-specific stem cell cultures from many individuals. These disease-specific iPS cells are invaluable tools that will allow to explore gene therapies for some conditions, and will aid in the development of drugs to slow or even stop the course of a number of diseases.
Cell. 2008 Aug 6. [Epub ahead of print]

Scientists at Harvard University and Columbia University have converted skin cells from an 82-year-old woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) into stem cells that formed motor neurons with the same genetic make up as the patient. The breakthrough opens the possibility of modeling a patient's specific disease outside of the patient, to improve investigation and drug screening, and perhaps even to develop new neurons to replace the damaged ones in the patient. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive degenerative disease that attacks the motor neurons in the spinal cord, leading to paralysis of limbs and respiration. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) were generated from fibroblasts taken from the skin of an 82-year-old woman with a familial form of ALS. The patient-specific iPS cells behaved like embryonic stem cells and differentiated successfully into motor neurons. Recent studies have shown it is possible to reprogram human fibroblasts and return them to a pluripotent state, where they become stem cells that can be coaxed into producing a range of other cells.  However, this is the first study to show it is possible to do this with the skin cells of an elderly patient with chronic disease. Despite these breakthrough results further studies are warranted because the cells are only useful if they are exactly the same as the ones causing the disease in the patient, partial replicates would be of little use.

A new president at the head of the Genethon laboratory - Yves Champey takes over from Bernard Barataud
The board of directors at Genethon have nominated a new president to head the laboratory created in 1990 by the AFM (French Muscular Dystrophy Association). Thus Yves Champey succeeds Bernard Barataud, who has decided to hand over the reins after heading the laboratory between 1990 and 1995 and then between 1999 and 2008.
>Access the complete press release (pdf - 2 pages - 83ko)

The Myotubular Trust (Registered Charity No: 1113809) was set up in 2006 to raise money for research to find a cure and/or treatment for myotubular myopathy. A first call for research projects will be held in mid to late September 2008. Completed applications should be sent by mid December 2008 with awards being announced in April 2009. The Myotubular Trust are looking to fund projects that will help find a cure and/or a treatment for any of the three types of myotubular myopathy (congenital X-linked recessive; congenital autosomal recessive; autosomal dominant), focusing on research that would not generally be funded by public or industrial funding sources. This call will be open to European research bodies only.
>For further information about the call for projects

Stem cells have the ability to differentiate into cells that are found throughout the body. This fundamental property of stem cells suggests that they can potentially be used to replace degenerative cells within the body, and regenerate the functional capacity of organ systems that have deteriorated because of disease or aging. This authoritative textbook provides an overview of the latest advances in the field of stem cell biology, spanning topics that include nuclear reprogramming, somatic cell cloning, and determinants of cell fate; embryonic stem cells for hematopoietic and pancreatic repair; adult stem cells for cardiovascular, neural, renal, and hepatic repair; and manufacturing of stem cells for clinical use.

This book provides essential information for Colleges and Training Centres who offer physiotherapy, beauty therapy and sports science courses as it explains both the scientific principles and the practical applications of electrotherapy. Valuable information is provided for all those interested in keeping fit with electrical stimulation, in an increasingly sedentary society where active exercise is difficult to maintain at adequate levels or when an injury or illness prevents active exercise. Electrical stimulation is an invaluable method of achieving better recovery of function after disabilities due to malfunction of the neuromuscular system, such as neurological disorders, stroke, spinal cord injury, and muscle diseases. This book explains exactly how electrical stimulation activates and transforms muscle, how it works on the cardiovascular system compared to active exercise and how it can be used both for healthy individuals and those needing stimulation for rehabilitation and recovery. It includes a comprehensive user’s guide for the practical application of electrotherapy.

UCL Institute for Child Health - Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre
The Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre (DNC) provides a multidisciplinary service as a leading clinical and research centre specialising in neuromuscular disorders affecting individuals in the paediatric age. The DNC involved in clinical trials, basic research focusing on understanding the cause of neuromuscular diseases in childhood and identifying novel therapeutic intervention. Research activities of the centre are focused on the genetic basis of Congenital Muscular dystrophies, muscle stem cell and experimental therapies for Duchenne Muscular dystrophy. The following positions are available:

For formal enquiries please contact Prof Francesco Muntoni: f.muntoni(a)ich.ucl.ac.uk or
Ms Janet Nicholas: j.nicholas(a)ich.ucl.ac.uk

The bimonthly Newsletter of the Institute of Myology keeps you up to date with developments in myology research, and presents a summary of the latest scientific, medical, political and associative news concerning neuromuscular diseases.

You can access our Newsletter by connecting directly to the Institute of Myology website, or by subscribing.

 

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