Myology research highlights

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is an assisted reproductive technique for couples carrying genetic risks. Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is the most common hereditary neuropathy, with a prevalence rate of 1/2,500. In this study, the authors report on their experience with PGD cycles performed for CMT types 1A and 2F. Before clinical PGD, they assessed the amplification … [Read more]

The aim of this prospective longitudinal multi centric study was to evaluate the correlation between the Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale and the 20-item version of the Motor Function Measure in non-ambulant SMA children and adults at baseline and over a 12-month period. Seventy-four non-ambulant patients performed both measures at baseline and 49 also had an … [Read more]

The symptoms of acquired autoimmune ocular myasthenia are restricted to the extrinsic eye muscles, causing double vision and drooping eyelids. These guidelines are designed to provide advice about best clinical practice based on the current state of clinical and scientific knowledge and the consensus of an expert panel. Evidence for these guidelines was collected by … [Read more]

The ability to extract somatic cells from a patient and reprogram them to pluripotency opens up new possibilities for personalized medicine. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been employed to generate beating cardiomyocytes from a patient’s skin or blood cells. Here, iPSC methods were used to generate cardiomyocytes starting from the urine of a patient … [Read more]

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is strongly associated with a unique form of dilated cardiomyopathy. Cardiac complications are the leading cause of death in DMD; thus, longitudinal assessments and early intervention for cardiac dysfunction are necessary to improve prognosis. Two-dimensional echocardiography, which is routinely used for cardiac assessment, has some limitations for quantitative analyses in DMD … [Read more]

This study aimed to identify and validate serum biomarkers for the progression of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) using a MS-based bottom-up pipeline. A bottom-up proteomics approach was employed, including a protein concentration equalization step, different proteolytic digestions and MS detection schemes, to identify candidate biomarkers in serum samples from control subjects and DMD patients. Fibronectin … [Read more]

The objective of this study was to analyze Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A) evolution. A 2-year longitudinal study in 14 CMT1A patients and 14 age- and sex-matched controls was conducted. In the patients, neurological examination with hand-held dynamometry, electrophysiology, and lower-limb muscle MRI were performed, both at baseline and 2 years later, while controls were … [Read more]

Duchenne muscular dystrophy in boys progresses rapidly to severe impairment of muscle function and death in the second or third decade of life. Current supportive therapy with corticosteroids results in a modest increase in strength as a consequence of a general reduction in inflammation, albeit with potential untoward long-term side effects and ultimate failure of … [Read more]

Sarcoglycanopathies are autosomic recessive muscular dystrophies, secondary to mutations of the sarcoglycan complex. Heart can be involved in sarcoglycanopathies. Herein, the authors aimed to analyse left ventricular function in patients with alpha-sarcoglycanopathy and gamma-sarcoglycanopathy. They conducted a retrospective study that aimed to analyse clinical and echocardiographic data of patients with sarcoglycanopathies. They included 19 patients: … [Read more]

 Loss-of-function mutations in the myotubularin gene (MTM1) cause X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM), a fatal, congenital pediatric disease that affects the entire skeletal musculature. Systemic administration of a single dose of a recombinant serotype 8 adeno-associated virus (AAV8) vector expressing murine myotubularin to Mtm1-deficient knockout mice at the onset or at late stages of the disease … [Read more]