Exploring the Latest in MDA’s CMT Research

The future of Charcot-Marie-Tooth research and treatments rests where the disease begins: in genes. While many new genes involved in CMT have been identified, we know as many as 40 percent of people living with CMT still don’t have a confirmed genetic diagnosis. We’re also still trying to understand the disease mechanisms of the genes . . .

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MDA and Answer ALS Partner to Develop the Most Comprehensive ALS Dataset to Date

MDA recently announced that it has awarded a research infrastructure grant totaling $550,000 to Jeffrey Rothstein, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and Director, Robert Packard Center for Answer ALS Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Answer ALS is a nationwide consortium assembling one of the most comprehensive clinical, genetic, molecular, and biochemical . . .

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Strength, Science, and Stories of Inspiration (SSSI) and MDA announce the second SSSI-MDA fellowship for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars

The Muscular Dystrophy Association is pleased to announce that it is once again partnering with Strength, Science, and Stories of Inspiration (SSSI) to support the second SSSI-MDA fellowship. This fellowship, aimed at graduate students and postdoctoral fellows that already have salary support in their existing labs, will provide additional research funding to allow those individuals to . . .

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Sarepta Therapeutics Announces Clinical Hold of Phase 1/2a DMD Micro-Dystrophin Gene Therapy Trial

Late on Wednesday, Sarepta Therapeutics announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed a clinical hold on their Phase 1/2a Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) Micro-Dystrophin Gene Therapy Trial due to contamination of the manufacturing lot with plasmid DNA. No safety issues were reported for participants in the trial. Sarepta has stated that they . . .

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MDA Funds Creation of Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Clinical Research Network to Speed Therapy Development

The Muscular Dystrophy Association recently awarded an MDA clinical research network grant to Nicholas Johnson, vice chair of research and associate professor of neurology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, to establish the Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD) Clinical Research Network. The investment, totaling $700,000 over two years, supports seven centers with expertise in LGMD research . . .

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Sailormen Inc. Popeyes Raises More Than $1 Million for MDA

On May 10, Sailormen Inc., one of the largest domestic franchisees of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurants with 132 locations in five states, announced that its annual MDA Golf Classic and 2018 Appetite for a Cure program raised a record-breaking $1,007,789 for MDA to transform the lives of individuals with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related neuromuscular . . .

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Clinical Trial Alert: Orion Pharma Seeks Participants for a Phase 3 ALS Study

Researchers at Orion Pharma are looking for participants with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) to participate in the REFALS Phase 3 study. The study is designed to help researchers evaluate the effects of oral levosimendan (ODM-109) on respiratory function in patients with ALS. Participants will be randomized to receive either levosimendan or placebo to determine whether . . .

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MDA Releases New Guide for Caregivers

Today, MDA, supported by grants from VieMed Healthcare and SYNERGY HomeCare, has released the MDA Guide for Caregivers, a comprehensive resource to empower individuals living with neuromuscular disease and their caregivers. The guide provides practical advice, recommendations, tips and resources to maximize quality of life, drawing on the expertise of numerous MDA Care Center staff. . . .

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