Myology research highlights
RSS feedAn unusual phenotype in a case of Sheldon-Hall syndrome
Sheldon-Hall syndrome (SHS) is an ultra-rare genetic disease usually characterised by congenital arthrogryposis of autosomal dominant transmission. Researchers at the neuromuscular reference centre at the Hôpital Raymond Poincaré in Garches have identified a patient with SHS presenting with : a whole-body muscle imaging study showed no signs of primary muscle involvement, on the other hand, … [Read more]
An original case of congenital titinopathy in an adult
Researchers at the Créteil Neuromuscular Reference Centre (Henri-Mondor University Hospital) report the observation of a 36-year-old patient with a congenital onset of titinopathy: initial hypotonia and arthrogryposis developed into a highly retractile syndrome, muscle biopsy revealed increased internalisation of cell nuclei, variation in fibre size and predominance of type I fibres, genetic studies revealed the … [Read more]
Characteristics of and response to treatment for double seronegative myasthenia gravis
A retrospective Canadian study of 80 people with double-seronegative myasthenia for anti-RACh and anti-MuSK antibodies, compared with 73 people with myasthenia for anti-RACh antibodies, showed that : the initial proportion of people with ocular forms (46.3%) was significantly higher in the double-seronegative group than in the anti-RACh myasthenia group; the Myasthenia Gravis Impairment Index (MGII) … [Read more]
Study of the cardiac fibroblast phenotype derived from IPS stem cells from patients with DMD
A European consortium of researchers has studied the biological and molecular characteristics of cardiac fibroblasts generated from induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) from Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and control subjects: these supporting tissue cells do not express full-length dystrophin like muscle fibres, these fibroblasts show profound changes in their biochemical profiles, with activation of … [Read more]
The distribution of genetic anomalies in CMT in China reveals differences in the paediatric population
Chinese researchers have studied the genotype of 181 children with all-types Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: several techniques were used: search for duplication/deletion of the PMP22 gene, CMT panel, whole exome, etc. 68% of patients had genetic confirmation of their disease, demonstrating a good diagnostic yield, CMT1A (duplication of the PMP22 gene) remains the most frequent aetiology, followed … [Read more]
How scoliosis and scoliosis surgery affect lifespan in DMD
A retrospective study carried out between January 2000 and August 2022 by Scottish surgeons on 113 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) showed that 43 of them (38%) had posterior spinal fusion for scoliosis (33) or kyphoscoliosis (10). The age at surgery ranged from 10 years 9 months to 18 years 3 months, with a … [Read more]
MTM1 gene therapy effective in BIN1-related centronuclear myopathy
In July 2023, a team from the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire in Strasbourg published the validation of a new therapeutic strategy involving the overexpression of myotubularin 1 (MTM1) in a BIN1-linked centronuclear mouse model. Systemic administration of AAV-MTM1 does not alter the phenotype of DNM2-related centronuclear myopathy mouse models. However, … [Read more]
Results of a survey on pregnancy in CMT disease
British team conducted a survey of 92 women with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease to assess their experiences of pregnancy and childbirth (171 in total): the participants completed questionnaires on the development of symptoms during pregnancy and potential obstetric complications encountered. The survey was carried out in a single London hospital, on pregnancies that took place between … [Read more]
DMD and newborn screening: results of a two-year American pilot programme
An American team conducted a two-year pilot study in several New York hospitals to assess the feasibility and benefits of newborn screening for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD): 36,781 newborns were included in this study after parental consent. Initially, their blood samples were tested for creatine kinase (CK). 24 boys and 17 girls showed elevated levels … [Read more]
DMD: the EMA’s CHMP has ruled against the marketing authorisation and the renewal of the conditional marketing authorisation for translarna
Translarna (ataluren), developed by the laboratory PTC Therapeutics, has until now benefited from a conditional marketing authorisation for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, granted by the EMA for patients with a “nonsense” mutation of the DMD gene, aged 2 years and over, who are able to walk. On 15 September 2023, the CHMP recommended that this marketing … [Read more]
