Antisense therapy is an approach to fighting diseases using short DNA-like molecules called antisense oligonucleotides. Recently, antisense therapy has emerged as an exciting and promising strategy for the treatment of various neurodegenerative and neuromuscular disorders. Previous and ongoing pre-clinical and clinical trials have provided encouraging early results. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA...

Spinal muscular atrophy is one of the most devastating neurological diseases of childhood. Affected infants and children suffer from often severe muscle weakness caused by degeneration of lower motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem. Identification of the causative genetic mutation in most cases has resulted in development of potential treatment strategies. To test these new drugs, clin...

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is known to be caused by a defective gene of dystrophin, a 427-kDa cytoskeletal protein, but the effective therapeutic drug is presently unavailable. We previously reported that a trypsin-like protease designated as dystrypsin is markedly activated in the muscle microsomal fraction immediately before onset of the clinical signs in mdx mice, a dystrophin-deficient her...

A genetic and epidemiological study is especially important in those hereditary diseases for which no effective treatment is known, since then genetic counselling is the only means of prevention. The progressive muscular dystrophies are typical conditions of this sort. Knowledge of the type of hereditary transmission for a given form of muscular dystrophy is the basis for correct genetic progno...

Dystroglycanopathies are a heterogeneous group of diseases with a broad phenotypic spectrum ranging from severe disorders with congenital muscle weakness, eye and brain structural abnormalities and intellectual delay to adult-onset limb-girdle muscular dystrophies without mental retardation. Most frequently the disease onset is congenital or during childhood. The exception is FKRP mutations, in...

Muscular dystrophies are a genetically heterogeneous group of degenerative muscle disorders. It characterized by progressive muscle wasting and weakness of variable distribution and severity. There are several subgroups including Duchenne/Becker, fascioscapulohumeral, limb-girdle, oculopharngeal, and congenital muscular dystrophy. Diagnosis is dependent to the characteristic clinical features i...

Type 1 spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a progressive neuromuscular disease characterized by an onset at 6 months of age or younger, inability to sit without support, and deficient levels survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. Risdiplam orally administered small molecule that modifies SMN2 pre–messenger RNA splicing increases functional SMN protein in blood.

In the last few years there has been an increase in interest among neurologists and geneticists in the spinal muscular atrophies. With the advent of several relatively sophisticated diagnostic procedures many patients once thought to be suffering from muscular dystrophy have in fact been found to have spinal muscular atrophy. The spinal muscular atrophies may be defined as a group of inherited ...

Ribosome concentration, ribosome distribution on sucrose density gradients, and in-vitro ribosomal amino-acid incorporation (noncollagen and collagen synthesis) were studied in muscle biopsy samples obtained from 30 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, seven patients with Becker muscular dystrophy, and 10 with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Ribosome concentration was normal in Du...

Abstract Purpose of the review Myotonic dystrophy types 1 and 2 are frequent forms muscular dystrophies in adulthood. Their clinical differences need to be taken into account for most appropriate treatment patients. The aim this article is provide an overview on current upcoming therapeutic options patients with myotonic type (DM2). Recent findings At moment, no disease-modifying therapies avai...