When asked to comment on the potential impact of this study on muscular dystrophy research, Glen Nuckolls, Ph.D., Program Director of the Muscle Disorders and Therapies Program at NIAMS said "The findings from this study may lead to the incorporation of MRI and MRS into future clinical trials that accelerate progress toward effective treatments for Duchenne. Furthermore, similar MR tests may be applicable to other types of muscular dystrophy or even other muscle diseases and disorders, including muscle strain injuries, atrophy or sarcopenia."

Dr. Vandenborne is grateful that the University of Florida “ Gainesville has received this award from NIAMS and NINDS, and believes, "This award will help us maintain the momentum of our work. We firmly believe in the promise of MRI and MRS as a non-invasive outcome measure for Duchenne. If we can replace biopsies as a tool to monitor efficacy in clinical trials for Duchenne with these methods, I think we will be able to greatly accelerate the translation from pre-clinical animal studies to clinical trials. I am so grateful to PPMD for believing in our lab's work early on and of course to NIAMS and NINDS for providing the resources it will take to go to the next level."

Last year, PPMD announced that Brown University would receive the first End Duchenne Grant Award. Since awarding that grant to Brown and Dr. Justin Fallon, he too has received funding from the NIH.

SOURCE Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy