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Query: UMLS:C0026850 (muscular dystrophy)
 5,870 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The paper reports an association of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and autonomous functioning thyroid nodule in two brothers and in one sister, a healthy carrier of this muscular dystrophy and with analogous thyroid pathology. It is interesting to outline the rarity of this association and the affinity of the clinical and electromyography pictures in thyrotoxic myopathy and in muscular dystrophy. In this three patients were studied: the muscular enzymes, electromyography and biopsy, HLA typing, thyroid scanning, thyroid hormone levels and TGA and TMA antibodies. However, the peculiarity of this case report may suggest the influence of genetic factors; moreover the existence of possible linkage between HLA system and association of two pathologies must be excluded, taking in account that the results of HLA types in these three Germans indicate different haplotypes.
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PMID:[Association of sporadic limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and autonomous thyroid nodule in 3 Germans]. 180 12

The aim of this study was to investigate the susceptibility of human myotubes to lysis by the two major types of cytotoxic effector cells, CD3+CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTL) and CD16+CD56+ natural killer (NK) cells. The myoblasts preparations used as target cells were greater than 90% pure as assessed by immunostaining with the Leu19 monoclonal antibody (MAb) that cross-reacts with the neural cell adhesion molecule N-CAM. Allospecific CTL lines were generated from mixed lymphocyte cultures, and freshly isolated allogeneic and autologous peripheral blood cells were used as a source of NK cells. The cytotoxicity was observed under phase optics and by immunoelectron microscopy, and was quantitated with a chromium release assay. Myotubes were efficiently killed by allospecific CTL and by autologous and allogeneic NK cells. The killing by CTL was inhibited with an anti-class I HLA MAb, and the killing by NK cells was inhibited by depleting peripheral blood cells of CD16+ cells with anti-CD16 MAb and complement. The results have important implications for myoblast transplantation, an experimental therapy of muscular dystrophy.
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PMID:Lysis of myotubes by alloreactive cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells. Relevance to myoblast transplantation. 236 26

Muscle biopsies from nine patients with polymyositis, six with muscular dystrophy, six with other muscle diseases and three controls have been studied with a panel of 10 monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) identifying T lymphocytes, HLA-class I antigens, alpha, beta and gamma interferons and interleukin 2 (IL-2). The result confirm that the staining of the sarcolemma with anti-HLA class I antibody is weak or negative, except in areas adjacent to infiltrating leucocytes or where muscle fibre damage is evident. The very similar tissue distribution of alpha, beta and gamma interferons in the polymyositis biopsies supports the hypothesis that interferons are released by the inflammatory infiltrate and induce the class I antigen expression. In contrast, little interferon was demonstrated in the dystrophic muscle implying that class I expression in these disorders must occur by a different mechanism. Little IL-2 was demonstrated in any of the biopsies though some unexplained small dense accumulations were identified by one of the anti IL-2 MoAb.
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PMID:Localization of interferons and interleukin 2 in polymyositis and muscular dystrophy. 242 51

The distribution of HLA ABC class I antigens in human skeletal muscle obtained by needle biopsy was investigated by means of a monoclonal antibody (W6/32) and an immunoperoxidase technique. Five samples from normal individuals and twenty-nine from patients with various neuromuscular disorders were examined. Normal muscle fibres and those from patients with congenital muscular dystrophy expressed little or no class I antigens, whereas muscle fibres of patients with myositis and various X-linked muscular dystrophies showed consistently strong expression. In other neuromuscular diseases expression was more variable. The presence of class I antigens on diseased muscle fibres may render them susceptible to cytotoxic T cells; these antigens may thus have an important role in the destruction of muscle fibres.
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PMID:Increased expression of HLA ABC class I antigens by muscle fibres in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, inflammatory myopathy, and other neuromuscular disorders. 285 18

Biopsy specimens from patients with treated or untreated polymyositis and muscular dystrophy controls were examined by indirect immunoperoxidase staining with a panel of monoclonal antibodies to human leucocyte antigens. In untreated polymyositis, helper/inducer T cells were the predominant T cell subset. In treated cases few T cells were seen. Overall, few T cells were seen in dystrophic cases, most infiltrating cells being dendritic and lacking T cell antigens. Staining of sarcolemma with anti-HLA class 1 antibody is weak or negative except in areas adjacent to infiltrating leucocytes or where muscle fibre damage is apparent.
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PMID:Monoclonal antibodies to human leucocyte antigens in polymyositis and muscular dystrophy. 622 50

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a common lethal disease for which no effective treatment is currently available. There exists a mouse model of the disease in which the usefulness of gene therapy was established. However, no progress towards human application was made due to the lack of a proper method for gene delivery. During the past several years, researchers acquired data which led them to believe that bone marrow stem cells are capable of generating not only blood cells, but also liver, heart, skin, muscle, and other tissue. Although the term "stem cell plasticity" became very popular, other studies have suggested that bone marrow might contain different types of stem cells that can produce non-hematopoietic cells. For example, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) in bone marrow give rise to osteocytes, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and skeletal muscle. Recently, researchers have been able to show that transplanted bone marrow cells can contribute to muscle cells in a human patient who was diagnosed with two genetic diseases: severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The odds of this happening is estimated at one in seven million. The results of studying this patient's medical history were reported by collaborating researchers at Children's Hospital, Los Angeles and Children's Hospital, Boston in an article titled "Long-term persistence of donor nuclei in a Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patient receiving bone marrow transplantation" published in the September 2002 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. This patient was transplanted 15 years ago at Children's Hospital Los Angeles with paternal HLA-haploidentical T cell-depleted bone marrow. He engrafted and became a hematopoietic chimera having T and NK lymphocytes of donor origin. Studies performed on the muscle biopsy from the patient 13 years after transplantation demonstrated that the muscle showed evidence of donor derived nuclei. In addition, analysis of his bone marrow showed that small numbers of MSC were also derived from the transplanted bone marrow. Unfortunately, there was no evidence that the number of new muscle cells from the donor was able to decrease the progression of his muscular dystrophy. The revelation of finding the donor's cells in the muscle of the patient provides new hope for patients with the same disease. In the future it may be possible for mesenchymal cells to be isolated, ex vivo expanded and transplanted into patients with muscle diseases.
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PMID:[Treatment progress of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)]. 1555 94

Intra-arterial transplantation of mesoangioblasts proved safe and partially efficacious in preclinical models of muscular dystrophy. We now report the first-in-human, exploratory, non-randomized open-label phase I-IIa clinical trial of intra-arterial HLA-matched donor cell transplantation in 5 Duchenne patients. We administered escalating doses of donor-derived mesoangioblasts in limb arteries under immunosuppressive therapy (tacrolimus). Four consecutive infusions were performed at 2-month intervals, preceded and followed by clinical, laboratory, and muscular MRI analyses. Two months after the last infusion, a muscle biopsy was performed. Safety was the primary endpoint. The study was relatively safe: One patient developed a thalamic stroke with no clinical consequences and whose correlation with mesoangioblast infusion remained unclear. MRI documented the progression of the disease in 4/5 patients. Functional measures were transiently stabilized in 2/3 ambulant patients, but no functional improvements were observed. Low level of donor DNA was detected in muscle biopsies of 4/5 patients and donor-derived dystrophin in 1. Intra-arterial transplantation of donor mesoangioblasts in human proved to be feasible and relatively safe. Future implementation of the protocol, together with a younger age of patients, will be needed to approach efficacy.
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PMID:Intra-arterial transplantation of HLA-matched donor mesoangioblasts in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 2790 83