Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and Ohio State University have reported successful results from a gene therapy study involving the natural body protein follistatin.

Follistatin promotes muscle growth and strength by interfering with the actions of another natural protein known as myostatin. Administering genes for the follistatin protein is one of several ways to inhibit myostatin and — while this study was conducted in an animal model — the strategy has the potential to help people with all nine forms of muscular dystrophy and possibly other types of muscle disease, such as inflammatory myopathies.

To learn more about the study, please read “Follistatin Genes Strengthen Muscles in Monkeys.”