muscle weakness
After decades of focusing on the management of respiratory failure, circulatory shock and severe infections that lead to extended stays in hospital intensive care units, critical care researchers a
Oxford, United Kingdom & Bothell, WA, USA -- October 20, 2009 -- An exon skipping PPMO has demonstrated dramatic effects in the prevention and treatment of severely affected, dystrophin and utrophin-deficient mice, preventing severe deterioration of the treated animals and extending their lifespan.
Critical care experts at Johns Hopkins are reporting initial success in boosting recovery and combating muscle wasting among critically ill, mostly bed-bound patients using any one of a trio of mild physical therapy exercises during their stays in the intensive care unit (ICU).
KANSAS CITY, MO -- September 1, 2009 -- New peer-reviewed research on military health issues is being presented this week at the Military Health Research Forum (MHRF), a scientific meeting hosted by the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).
Mitochondrial diseases disrupt the power generating machinery within cells and increase a person's susceptibility to bacterial infection, particularly in the lungs or respiratory tract.
LA JOLLA, CA, July 21, 2009 -- -- Discoveries by Scripps Research Institute scientists have led to a promising new drug candidate -- the first in its class -- for patients with a genetic protein-misfolding disease. In results announced by the biopharmaceutical firm FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
A new drug being studied for the treatment of muscle degenerating diseases has shown promising results. According to a study published today in the British Journal of Pharmacology, Debio 025 is as effective as current drugs but, crucially, does not cause unwanted immunosuppressive effects.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ? Brain may win out over brawn as the primary cause of breathing problems in children with a severe form of muscular dystrophy known as Pompe disease.
Doctors have issued a warning about excessive cola consumption after noticing an increase in the number of patients suffering from muscle problems, according to the June issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.
Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center may have discovered a new targeted intervention for Barth Syndrome (BTHS). BTHS, a sometimes fatal disease, is a serious genetic disorder occurring predominantly in males that leads to infection or heart failure in childhood.
Lifting weights can improve muscle strength and quality of life for people afflicted with the degenerative disease multiple sclerosis, a new University of Florida study finds. "This is the first published report using a conventional weight-training program for patients with MS," said Lesley White, a professor in UF's department of applied physiology and kinesiology and the study's lead author. "We designed an exercise program to develop muscle strength because MS causes muscle weakness and fatigue, which contribute to a declining cycle of fitness, loss of mobility and decreased quality of life."
Scientists are closer to correcting an abnormal gene which causes one of the crippling muscle wasting diseases known collectively as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease. Their findings may lead to the development of gene therapy to treat patients with CMT disease, which affects around 23,000 people in the UK. It leads to muscle weakness and wasting in the feet, lower legs, hands and forearms and can confine those with the condition to a wheelchair.
As the nation gears up for another season of West Nile virus, a new study extends the understanding of the clinical spectrum of West Nile symptoms, and points to extreme muscle weakness or paralysis as a significant cause of complications in affected patients. The study appears in the July 8 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) have identified the gene responsible for two related, inherited neurological disorders, and have, for the first time, directly implicated this gene and its enzyme product in a human genetic disease.
Using a common diabetes drug, researchers in Los Angeles have successfully treated pituitary tumors that cause a potentially life-threatening condition known as Cushing's syndrome. The most common type of Cushing's syndrome is caused by prolonged high-level exposure of a hormone called ACTH (adrenocorticotropin), which is secreted in excess by tumors of the pituitary gland, situated at the base of the brain and, which controls growth, metabolism and reproduction. Although the disorder is rare, it affects more women than men by a ratio of 5:1. Symptoms include weight gain with rounding of the face; increased fat in the neck; thinning skin; excess hair growth on the face neck, chest abdomen and thighs; muscle weakness and bone loss (osteoporosis); high blood sugar; diabetes; and high blood pressure.
