Myasthenia Gravis (MG)

'Guided Missile' Strategy for MG Shows Promise in Mice

Researchers funded in part by MDA say a gene-based therapy designed to treat myasthenia gravis (MG) has shown promise in mice with an MG-like disease.

The research team was led by Dan Drachman, a longtime MDA research grantee at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, who also co-directs the MDA neuromuscular disease clinic at that institution. Drachman, a professor of neurology, has a special interest in MG, which is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease.

MDA Commits $10.7 Million to Neuromuscular Disease Research

The Muscular Dystrophy Association has awarded 33 new grants totaling $10,684,481 to fund research projects focused on uncovering the causes of, and developing therapies for, neuromuscular disease.

MDA's Board of Directors reviewed and approved the new grants based on recommendations from the Association's Scientific and Medical Advisory Committees, and the grants took effect Aug. 1.

MG — JianRong Sheng, Ph.D.

JianRong Sheng, assistant professor in the department of neurology and rehabilitation at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center, was awarded an MDA research grant totaling $317,058 over three years. The funds will help support Sheng's study of potential therapeutic treatments for myasthenia gravis (MG).

MG — Lin Mei, M.D., Ph.D.

MDA awarded a research grant totaling $390,000 over three years to Lin Mei, professor and director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics at Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta. The funds will help support Mei’s research on the role of a protein called LRP4 in myasthenia gravis (MG).

MG — Feng Lin, Ph.D.

Feng Lin, associate professor in the department of pathology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, was awarded an MDA research grant totaling $390,000 over three years to study a potential new cell-based therapy for myasthenia gravis (MG).

MG is part of a large class of diseases known as autoimmune diseases, in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues.

MG — Lee

MDA has awarded a research development grant totaling $180,000 over three years to Chi Wai Lee, postdoctoral fellow in the department of cell biology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. The grant will help support Lee’s research into therapeutic strategies to ameliorate the symptoms in myasthenia gravis (MG).

MG — Patel

MDA has awarded a research grant totaling $121,139 to Pragna Patel, professor at the Institute for Genetic Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The new funds will help support Patel’s research aimed at determining the faulty gene responsible for myasthenia gravis (MG) in a particular family with the disease.

MG — Lindstrom

MDA has awarded a research grant totaling $450,000 over three years to Jon Lindstrom, professor of neuroscience and pharmacology at the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The new funds will help support Lindstrom’s continued efforts to develop an immunosuppresive therapy for myasthenia gravis (MG).

2012 AAN Meeting: Myasthenia Gravis Briefs

The 2012 annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held in New Orleans April 21-28, included findings related to myasthenia gravis (MG).

Neuromuscular Disease Research Discussed at 2012 AAN Meeting

Top scientists and clinicians from around the world are discussing the latest research in neuroscience, and the care of individuals with nerve and muscle diseases, at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in New Orleans, April 21-28.

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