Myology research highlights
RSS feedUltrasound nerve imaging may be useful in CMT
Due to technological advances in ultrasound equipment, it is now possible to visualize nerves along their entire length. An international consortium of German, Algerian and Egyptian researchers compiled data from 6,061 such examinations in the context of patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT): A literature review and meta-analysis of the collected cases were performed using data … [Read more]
Late-onset sporadic nemaline myopathy: of the importance of α-actinin immunostaining and of the efficacy of corticosteroids combined with an immunosuppressant
A Chinese retrospective study of 17 individuals with sporadic late-onset nemaline myopathy (SLONM), including four with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), shows positive muscle biopsy immunostaining for anti-α-actinin antibodies in all cases. The first signs appeared at a median age of 54 years. Most had asymmetric proximal limb muscle involvement (71%) and neck extensors … [Read more]
A first case, adult and without rhabdomylolysis, of myopathy linked to the MLIP gene
The involvement of the MLIP gene in the occurrence of acute episodes of rhabdomyolysis associated with exertional myalgia from early childhood was first published in October 2021. This gene encodes the Muscular LMNA-interacting protein (MLIP), which interacts with lamins A/C and is thought to play a role in the regulation of transcriptional activators during cardiac stress. … [Read more]
Different gut microbiota in dermatomyositis, especially with associated lung disease
A team from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) publishes the results of a comparative study of the gut microbiota of 36 dermatomyositis patients and 26 controls. They show : a lower diversity of microbial flora in the dermatomyositis group, even more marked in the subgroup (n=12) of patients with pulmonary involvement (interstitial … [Read more]
A first positive assessment of intrathecal injections of nusinersen in children
Nusinersen (Spinraza®) is one of the innovative oligonucleotide-based therapies administered to patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The need to inject it intrathecally is sometimes technically difficult, especially in cases of spinal deformity. According to the multidisciplinary team at the Boston reference centre (USA), which treated 82 then 125 children with SMA in two phases, … [Read more]
Feedback from gene therapy in children with SMA over 8.5 kg
The therapeutic trials leading to the approval of the onasemnogene abeparvovec (Zolgensma) were conducted in children with SMA weighing less than 8.5 kg. In the framework of a compassionate access programme set up by Novartis for this innovative therapy (GMAP programme), this weight limit could be exceeded: 102 children have been treated since September 2021 … [Read more]
A more effective response to Zolgensma® in patients with poor response to Spinraza®?
An Italian real-life study conducted over 3 months in nine children with type I proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) (1.7-48 months) on Zolgensma®, seven of them having received Spinraza® regularly, showed that : participants’ motor performance improved during the three months of follow-up, this improvement under Zolgensma® was not as great as the initial improvement … [Read more]
A functional scale to assess facial muscle involvement in FSH
Facial muscle involvement is part of the classic description of facioscapulohumeral myopathy (FSH), including deficits of the orbicularis of the lips and eyes. Dutch researchers have developed a new scale to assess the importance and functional impact of this condition: preparatory work with the patients themselves concerning their experience of the disease in this region … [Read more]
A South Korean natural history study of Kennedy syndrome
Kennedy syndrome or bulbospinal muscular atrophy affects mainly an adult population. Clinicians in South Korea have collected clinical and genetic data from 157 patients with this X-linked recessive neuromuscular disorder: with a median age of 56.9 years, their cohort is mainly composed of adults (33-83 years); a fine tremor of the fingers is very often … [Read more]
A rare but formidable complication of gene therapy in SMA
Gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has involved some 40 French infants to date. The onesamnogene abeparvovec (Zolgensma®) was administered in a single intravenous injection. Clinicians in Paris and Nantes report the occurrence in one of them of thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), a serious and potentially lethal complication directly related to the treatment: this child, … [Read more]
