Search results for "Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy"
showing 10 items of 41 documents
Altered electrical activity in colonic smooth muscle cells from dystrophic (mdx) mice
2001
Because the colon from dystrophic (mdx) mice shows an altered motor pattern, probably due to neural disorders, our aim was to examine the electrophysiological properties of muscle cells and the functionality of nitrergic transmission in circular muscle from normal and mdx colon. Normal colonic cells (resting membrane potential [RMP] about -50 mV) showed spontaneous hyperpolarizations (inhibitory junction potentials; IJPs) and cyclic slow depolarizations were sometimes recorded. Mdx colon had a depolarized RMP (about -36 mV) and spontaneous IJPs, but the cyclic activity was never observed. In the normal colon, Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) induced depolarization and abolished…
Spontaneous mechanical activity and evoked responses in isolated gastric preparations from normal and dystrophic (mdx) mice
2002
This study examined whether alterations of the spontaneous and evoked mechanical activity are present in the stomach of the mdx mouse, the animal model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The gastric mechanical activity from whole-organ of normal and mdx mice was recorded in vitro as changes of intraluminal pressure. All gastric preparations developed spontaneous tone and phasic contractions, although the tone of the mdx preparations was significantly greater. Atropine reduced the tone of the two preparations by the same degree. Nomega-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) significantly increased the tone and spontaneous contractions only in the stomach from normal animals, but did not affect…
Deflazacort vs. prednisone in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: trends of an ongoing study
1995
Several studies have demonstrated the slowing effect of corticosteroids on the decline of muscle strength in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Deflazacort (DFC) is supposed to have fewer side effects than prednisone (PRED). An ongoing double blind multicenter study is comparing the effects and side effects of deflazacort (0.9 mg/kg/day) and prednisone (0.75 mg/kg/day) in DMD. This interim report includes data for 67 boys between age 5 years and loss of ambulation. Besides the common clinical and laboratory data for chronic corticoid treatment, motor performance has been tested. Interim results, 3-15 months after starting the medication, show some scattering but no grouping of data for all …
Treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy with ciclosporin A: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre trial.
2010
Summary Background Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a rare X-linked progressive disease characterised by loss of ambulation at about age 10 years, with death in early adulthood due to respiratory and cardiac insufficiency. Steroids are effective at slowing the progression of muscle weakness; however, their use is limited by side-effects, prompting the search for alternatives. We assessed the effect of ciclosporin A as monotherapy and in combination with intermittent prednisone for the treatment of ambulant patients with this disorder. Methods Our study was a parallel-group, placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicentre trial at trial sites of the German muscular dystrophy network, MD-NET, ove…
Myogenic NOS and endogenous NO production are defective in colon from dystrophic (mdx) mice.
2001
The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether alterations in the distribution and/or function of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) could be involved in the development of the spontaneous mechanical tone observed in colon from dystrophic ( mdx) mice. By recording the intraluminal pressure of isolated colon from normal mice, we showed that Nω-nitro- l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) increased the tone, even in the presence of tetrodotoxin. The effect was prevented by l-arginine, nifedipine, or Ca2+-free solution. In colon from mdx mice, l-NAME was ineffective. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the presence and distribution of neuronal (nNOS), endothelial, and inducible NOS isoforms in smooth…
Duchenne muscular dystrophy and idiopathic hyperCKemia segregating in a family
1995
A 7-month-old boy with gross motor delay and failure to thrive presented with rhabdomyolysis following an acute asthmatic episode. During hospitalization an electrocardiographic conversion to a Wolff-Parkinson-White type 1 (WPW) pattern took place. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) was suspected based on elevated creatine kinase (CK) serum levels, muscle biopsy, and family history. The diagnosis was confirmed by molecular analysis, which documented a deletion corresponding to cDNA probe 1-2a in the dystrophin gene, in the propositus and in an affected male cousin of his mother. "Idiopathic" hyperCKemia was found in the propositus, his father, and 5 of his relatives. We suggest that the unus…
Mehrsegmentale Fusion der Skoliose bei Duchenne-Muskeldystrophie
2008
Operations in scoliosis in patients suffering from an advanced stage of Duchenne muscular dystrophy are associated with a higher risk due to the extent of the curves, the respiratory insufficiency and frequent cardiomyopathia. Progressive scolioses in 20 wheelchair patients with an age between 10.5-18.3 years (mean 14.6 years) were treated by CDI. The mean preoperative angle in this group was 70.6 degrees, the postoperative angle 31.2 degrees (mean correction 39.4 degrees or 55.8%). The preoperative lordosis of the lumbar spine (mean angle 4.1 degrees) was corrected to 17.8 degrees postoperatively. The average intraoperative blood loss (2300 ccm) was evident more compared with idiopathic sc…
P.20.3 Targeting fibrosis and inflammation in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
2013
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most frequent genetic muscle disease worldwide affecting ∼1:5000 male births. It is caused by a defective DMD gene, which leads to reduced and defective dystrophin protein expression. The constant breakdown of fibres leads to focal necrosis, myophagocytosis and a considerable influx of inflammatory cells into the muscle tissue, which is followed by increasing endomysial fibrosis. Both, inflammation and fibrosis as well as a putative relation are not yet understood immunologically. Fibrosis directly correlates with adverse outcome and early loss of ambulation. We have studied how inflammation is linked to fibrosis in DMD, with an emphasis on the communicati…
Pain Phenotypes in Rare Musculoskeletal and Neuromuscular Diseases
2020
For patients diagnosed with a rare musculoskeletal or neuromuscular disease, pain may transition from acute to chronic; the latter yielding additional challenges for both patients and care providers. We assessed the present understanding of pain across a set of ten rare, noninfectious, noncancerous disorders; Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Achondroplasia, Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, Fibrous Dysplasia/McCune-Albright Syndrome, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Infantile- and Late-Onset Pompe disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Through the integration of natural history, cross-sectional, retrospective…
Ultrastructural changes in the interstitial cells of Cajal and gastric dysrhythmias in mice lacking full-length dystrophin (mdxmice)
2003
At least two populations of c-kit positive interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) lie in the gastric wall, one located at the myenteric plexus level has a pace-making function and the other located intramuscularly is intermediary in the neurotransmission and regenerates the slow waves. Both of these ICC sub-types express full-length dystrophin. Mdx mice, an animal model lacking in full-length dystrophin and used to study Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), show gastric dismotilities. The aim of the present study was to verify in mdx mice whether: (i) gastric ICC undergo morphological changes, through immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analyses; and (ii) there are alterations in the electrica…