View clinical trials related to Muscular Dystrophies.
Filter by:The OCULO-Pharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD) is a late onset hereditary muscle disease which is characterised by the selective affection of the pharyngeal muscles resulting in swallowing disorders, and by a ptosis from the dysfunction of the levator palpebral superiors muscles. Swallowing disorders are determinant in the prognosis of the disease, and potentially life-threatening deglutition, due to aspiration and denutrition. Degenerative dystrophy of the pharyngeal muscles causes difficulties to prepulse the food bolus in the pharynx, and the decreased relaxation of the cricopharyngeal muscle induced by the disease leads to blockage of food in the upper esophageal sphincter. The most common treatment for the dysphagia in OPMD is a myotomy of the upper esophageal sphincter muscles. However, although this will relax the constriction of the upper esophageal sphincter muscles and improve transitory the swallowing, it will not prevent the progressive degradation of the pharyngeal muscles. This progressive loss of contractility will eventually result in aspiration and severe difficulty in swallowing, increasing risk of aspiration pneumonia and severe weight loss which are the most common causes of mortality in OPMD patients. The protocol which we are proposing is a graft of autologous cell muscles (myoblasts) isolated from unaffected limb muscles into the pharyngeal muscles of patients diagnosed as suffering from OPMD. Our aim is to improve both swallowing and the contractile deficit generated by the dystrophic pharyngeal muscles. A myotomy of the upper esophageal sphincter will be carried out at the same time as the myoblast transplantation, since we have already validated the improvement resulting from this surgery. Advantages of this new therapy in OPMD is the autograft, without risks of rejection, and the graft of myoblasts into the dystrophic pharyngeal muscles, above the myotomy of the upper esophageal sphincter muscles. This model of cellular therapy has been studied through a preclinical study performed in dogs, allowing to valid the procedure and its safety, as well as to study the survival myoblasts grafted in the pharyngeal muscles. This protocol is proposed for OPMD patients; it is firstly a safety study of both autograft and surgical procedure. In addition, the autograft may improve the swallowing disorders and life-threatening complications induced by aspiration and weight loss, resulting in a potential individual benefit.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder that develops in boys. It is caused by a mutation in the gene for dystrophin, a protein that is important for maintaining normal muscle structure and function. Loss of dystrophin causes muscle fragility that leads to weakness and loss of walking ability during childhood and teenage years. A specific type of mutation, called a nonsense (premature stop codon) mutation, is the cause of DMD in approximately 10-15% of boys with the disease. Ataluren is an orally-delivered, investigational drug that has the potential to overcome the effects of the nonsense mutation. This study is a Phase 2a extension trial that will evaluate the long-term safety of ataluren in boys with nonsense mutation DMD, as determined by adverse events and laboratory abnormalities. The study will also assess changes in walking, muscle function, strength, and other important clinical and laboratory measures.
The scientific aim of the present extension study is to monitor long-term safety and tolerability of idebenone in patients with DMD. Furthermore, the long-term effect on respiratory, cardiac and motor functions, and skeletal muscle strength/function will be assessed.
The muscular dystrophies (MD) are a group of more than 30 neuromuscular disorders that are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins and the death of muscle cells and tissue. This study will investigate the use of far infrared radiation for managing muscular dystrophies.
Idebenone is a synthetic analogue of coenzyme Q10 and is a powerful antioxidant and essential constituent of the process of energy production on the cellular level. It can protect mitochondria from oxidative damage and boost their impaired function. It is thought that this mechanism will slow decline in heart function that is part of the disease process of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). It is possible that patients may benefit in terms of muscle strength and respiratory function. This pilot trial is designed to investigate this.
Adult myotonic muscular dystrophy (Steinert's disease) is the most common inherited neuromuscular disorder. Cardiac rhythm disturbances occur frequently in this disease state and may be responsible for up to one-third of deaths. In this study, we intend to evaluate the utility of non-invasive electrocardiographic screening methods and history in predicting serious arrhythmic events.
Purpose This cardiac dysfunction in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is associated with minor cardiac damage as indicated by elevation of plasma cardiac troponin I (cTnI). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the administration of Carvedilol can suppress the minor cardiac damage and prevent deterioration of cardiac function.
DMD/BMD is a genetic disorder that develops in boys. It is caused by a mutation in the gene for dystrophin, a protein that is important for maintaining normal muscle structure and function. Loss of dystrophin causes muscle fragility that leads to weakness and loss of walking ability during childhood and teenage years. A specific type of mutation, called a nonsense (premature stop codon) mutation is the cause of DMD/BMD in approximately 13 percent (%) of boys with the disease. Ataluren is an orally delivered, investigational drug that has the potential to overcome the effects of the nonsense mutation. This study is a Phase 2b trial that will evaluate the clinical benefit of ataluren in boys with DMD/BMD due to a nonsense mutation. The main goals of the study are to understand whether ataluren can improve walking, activity, muscle function, and strength and whether the drug can safely be given for a long period of time.
This study will have significant impact on muscular dystrophy patients as it promotes early screening for heart disease. With early identification, beneficial medical therapy can be started sooner, resulting in restoring and maintaining normal heart function. This is critical to the survival of these patients. We have reported previously that heart failure in all patients may have common mechanisms, the "final common pathway". Heart failure is a significant health problem with 5 million people in the US carrying the diagnosis and accounting for 12-15 million office visits and 6.5 million hospital days per year. The number of deaths from heart failure continues to increase. The data from this study could impact patients worldwide with heart failure by offering new insight into an ever-growing disease population and lead to significant changes in how they are currently treated.
Limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2D (LGMD2D) is a genetic disease that affects skeletal muscle. Insufficient levels of the protein alpha-sarcoglycan result in muscle weakness that worsens over time. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of gene therapy in treating children and adults with LGMD2D.