Central Core Disease (CCD)

Researchers at the Psychology of Disability Lab at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor are exploring the social identity of people with disabilities through a short, anonymous, Web-based questionnaire.

The lab's Disability Identity Project is being headed by principal investigator Adena Rottenstein, a doctoral candidate in psychology.

The study closes the week of Aug. 22, 2011.

Researchers at the University of Michigan are seeking 30 young adults, ages 18-29, who have had symptoms of certain forms of muscular dystrophy or myopathy since birth, to complete an online survey that asks about their perceived quality of life and level of independence.

The study also is recruiting 30 adults with no neuromuscular disease.

Results will be used to identify ways that counselors and therapists can address specific factors considered important by people with congenital muscle diseases (present at or near birth).

Since 1993 — when mutations in the RYR1 gene were first linked to central core disease (CCD)— researchers have been trying to figure out exactly how these mutations cause the disease and what can be done to combat their deleterious effects.

Now, investigators in the United States, Canada and Germany have added an important piece to the CCD puzzle, through careful studies of mice with a particular mutation in the RYR1 gene that commonly causes human CCD.

MDA has awarded 38 new research grants totaling more than $14 million and covering more than a dozen neuromuscular diseases. 

MDA's Board of Directors met in Los Angeles July 16, where it reviewed and approved the new grants based on recommendations from the MDA Scientific and Medical Advisory Committees. Grants were scored and recommended for approval based on the capabilities of the applicant, the scientific merit of the project, and the proposal's relevance to developing treatments for the disease. The effective start date for all grants was July 1, 2010.