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Recent Quest Articles

Scientists Bullish on Stem Cells for Muscle Repair

MDA grantee Giulio Cossu, director of the Stem Cell Research Institute of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute of Milan (Italy), was part of an Italian and French research team that restored mobility to two dogs and stabilized function in a third, using stem cells taken from muscle blood vessels.Maurilio Sampaolesi, at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan and the Institute of Myology at the University of Pavia (Italy), and colleagues, isolated mesoangioblasts from canine muscle biopsy samples and administered them through an artery into 10 dogs with a disorder resembling human  Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

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Surgery Sometimes, Bracing Often, Caution Always

Diane Lareau, 35, of Linwood, Mass., always knew there was something wrong, but her mother kept telling her she was just pigeon-toed and that putting her shoes on the wrong feet would fix the problem.It didn’t, and by her late teens, she remembers, her toes were “all bent and just a mess. It looked like a bird’s claw on both feet. I was actually almost walking on the outsides of my ankles.”

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One Good Turn

When turning over in bed becomes difficult for a person with muscle weakness, usually two people suffer sleep deprivation — the “turnee” and the “turner,” or person who wakes up several times a night and helps with repositioning.Consequently, any sleep aid for people with mobility problems is a sleep aid for their caregivers as well. Although some sleep aids, such as alternating pressure mattresses or turning beds, can be pricey, they provide a two-for-one solution to a frustrating problem, and pay big health dividends over time.

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What Would Rover Say?

Paige Viscuso of Carlton, Pa., has fun while training her pgymy goat, Rockie. Most service animals are dogs, trained to offer different types of assistance to people with a variety of disabilities — from vision or hearing impairments to emotional or medical problems. But there are other types of service animals that retrieve dropped items, open and close doors, push the elevator buttons and pull wheelchairs for people with physical disabilities such as those caused by neuromuscular diseases.

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Revising Cardiac Care in Muscular Dystrophies

On Nov. 1, there appeared in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, a somewhat unusual article. Unlike most reports in Circulation, which address common cardiovascular problems like heart attacks, strokes and cholesterol control, it focused on treating cardiac disease associated with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy.

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Give Me a Lift

You’re still transferring independently, but you’ve fallen a couple of times on your way from the wheelchair to the bed.Your caregiver still lifts you in and out of the bathtub, but her groans from back pain are getting louder.It’s time to start thinking about a mechanical or powered lift system that you can use at home, and maybe one for work, too.

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Connecting the Dots

Just a few years ago, almost nothing could be said to parents like those in “Families Left with Questions,” other than that their child had a  congenital  (present at or near birth) form of muscular dystrophy.Andrew Loewi of Denver compares research on his daughter Samantha’s  congenital MD (CMD)  to Duchenne MD, for which the gene was identified in 1986. “What was so discouraging, so exasperating, for us, was that without even knowing what gene was involved, it seemed we were so far behind the eight ball that we’d never catch up.”

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Despite the Challenge, People Love Their Live-Ins

It’s not easy to live with another person. “Stuff” comes up, like privacy (“stay out of my stuff”), cleanliness (“pick up your stuff”), respect (“get that stuff outta my face”) and trust (“where’s my stuff?”).Yet many people with physically disabling conditions find that living with a personal care attendant solves more “stuff” than it creates — critical stuff like needing reliable help getting in and out of bed, dressing, cooking, or going to the bathroom.

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Secrets of the Salamander: Can Stem Cells Repair Damaged Muscle Fibers?

Long before "stem cell" became a household term, people had observed that plants and animals can, within limits, repair damage they sustain.Wounds heal, broken bones knit, and lost blood is replenished. Mowed grass soon regrows, and barren trees sprout new leaves in spring. Cut off a limb of a salamander or some other amphibians, and it regrows. But the limbs of other animals, once gone, can’t grow back.

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Putting Your Best Foot Forward

Though we tend to think of it as something simple, the foot actually is a very complex body part, made up of 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles and tendons. By maintaining the health of this intricate appendage, you can prevent sores, infections or deformities and even wear stylish shoes.

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MDA Resource Center: We’re Here For You

Our trained specialists are here to provide one-on-one support for every part of your journey. Send a message below or call us at 1-833-ASK-MDA1 (1-833-275-6321). If you live outside the U.S., we may be able to connect you to muscular dystrophy groups in your area, but MDA services are only available in the U.S.

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