A new University of Iowa study offers promising progress in finding an eventual cure for muscular dystrophy. Dr. Kevin Campbell, a U-of-I neurology professor, says they injected M-D-afflicted mice with a sugar-adding protein which appears to have restored normal muscle function. Dr. Campbell says “We can rescue the muscles where it’s been injected so it stays localized. We’re thinking about trying to develop a pharmacological approach…that way we’d be able to rescue all the muscles.” He says his research team is continuing to work with the protein or enzyme, to see how it may be used to reverse some of the effects of muscular dystrophy, though there are nine forms of M.D. He says the protein is being tested in other models, or types, of M.D. and they’re trying to combine it with other drugs that might modify the results. Campbell says they haven’t found the miracle cure, yet, but he says this is a very encouraging development. He calls it “another piece of the puzzle” and a new potential treatment approach that could be combined with others for success. The findings are being published in the journal Nature Medicine.
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