Myology research highlights

In the context of future adeno-associated viral (AAV)-based clinical trials for Duchenne myopathy, AAV genome fate in dystrophic muscles is of importance considering the viral capsid immunogenicity that prohibits recurring treatments. Here, researchers have demonstrated that AAV genomes encoding non-therapeutic U7 were lost from mdx dystrophic muscles within 3 weeks after intramuscular injection. In contrast, … [Read more]

In order to understand the contemporary natural history of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the authors report 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) and its change over time from a large single centre population of corticosteroid treated DMD boys. Sixty-five boys on daily corticosteroid treatment were identified with a mean (SD) age of 9.5 (2.3) years at first … [Read more]

Congenital muscular dystrophies with hypoglycosylation of α-dystroglycan (α-DG) are a heterogeneous group of disorders often associated with brain and eye defects in addition to muscular dystrophy. Causative variants in 14 genes thought to be involved in the glycosylation of α-DG have been identified thus far. Allelic mutations in these genes might also cause milder limb-girdle … [Read more]

In this study, the authors aimed to identify the genetic cause of an autosomal recessive demyelinating Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4B (CMT4B) family in 14 members of a Korean family. Three individuals had demyelinating CMT4B phenotype and obtained distal sural nerve biopsies from all affected participants. Exome sequencing was performed on 6 samples (3 affected and … [Read more]

Non-dystrophic myotonias are rare diseases caused by mutations in skeletal muscle chloride and sodium ion channels with considerable phenotypic overlap between diseases. Few prospective studies have evaluated the sensitivity of symptoms and signs of myotonia in a large cohort of patients. In this study, the authors performed a prospective observational study of 95 participants with … [Read more]

DMD is a severe X linked neuromuscular disorder where symptoms may arise as early as 2 years of age and patient surviving till adulthood is extremely rare. This is caused by mutations in dystrophin-a critical gene for muscle fibre strength- leading to a severe reduction of the dystrophin protein in muscles. A milder form DMD … [Read more]

Pompe disease is a neuromuscular disease resulting from deficiency in acid α-glucosidase (GAA), results in cardiac, skeletal muscle, and central nervous system (CNS) pathology. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has been shown to partially correct cardiac and skeletal muscle dysfunction. However, ERT does not cross the blood-brain barrier and progressive CNS pathology ensues. Here, the authors … [Read more]

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 is an autosomal dominant condition caused by a trinucleotide CTG repeat expansion in the 3′ untranslated region of the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase gene. The phenotypic features of myopathic facies, generalized weakness, and myotonia are thought to be dependent on repeat number, with larger expansions generally leading to earlier and/or more … [Read more]

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is due to a mutation on the X-chromosome, therefore it rarely affects women, unless there is an unequal lyonisation of the X-chromosome containing the normal dystrophin gene. This study reports the unique situation of a symptomatic Duchenne muscular dystrophy woman who was transplanted with myoblasts received from her asymptomatic monozygotic twin sister … [Read more]

Genome editing with engineered nucleases has recently emerged as an approach to correct genetic mutations by enhancing homologous recombination with a DNA repair template. However, many genetic diseases, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), can be treated simply by correcting a disrupted reading frame. In this study, the authors show that genome editing with transcription … [Read more]