Monthly #apaperaday wrap-up: April 2023
Prof. Annemieke Aartsma-Rus is taking on a challenge by reading and commenting on a paper a day. She shares her insights, findings and thoughts via her @oligogirl Twitter account. Each month, a curated selection of the relevant papers for Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy are presented by the World Duchenne Organization. See below the overview of April 2023.
Must reads
- Unusually severe muscular dystrophy upon in-frame deletion of the dystrophin rod domain and lack of compensation by membrane-localized utrophin Read more>
- Modulating fast skeletal muscle contraction protects skeletal muscle in animal models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy Read more>
- Efficacy and Safety of Viltolarsen in Boys With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Results From the Phase 2, Open-Label, 4-Year Extension Study Read more>
- dystrophin Expressing Chimeric (DEC) Cell Therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A First-in-Human Study with Minimum 6 Months Follow-up Read more>
Interesting papers
- A genome-wide association analysis of loss of ambulation in dystrophinopathy patients suggests multiple candidate modifiers of disease severity Read more>
- Six weeks of N-acetylcysteine antioxidant in drinking water decreases pathological fiber branching in MDX mouse dystrophic fast-twitch skeletal muscle Read more>
- Update on anti-fibrotic pharmacotherapies in skeletal muscle disease Read more>
- 3D human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived bioengineered skeletal muscles for tissue, disease and therapy modeling Read more>
Additional reading
- Sources of variation in estimates of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy prevalence in the United States Read more>
- A Proof of Principle Proteomic Study Detects dystrophin in Human Plasma: Implications in DMD Diagnosis and Clinical Monitoring Read more>
- Efficient Modulation of Exon Skipping via Antisense Circular RNAs Read more>
- Altered muscle niche contributes to myogenic deficit in the D2-mdx model of severe DMD Read more>
We are grateful for prof. Aartsma-Rus for allowing us to share her daily recaps. Follow @oligogirl on Twitter to stay on top of the latest #apaperaday tweets, or subscribe to the WDO Newsletter to receive the monthly must-reads in your inbox.
About professor Annemieke Aartsma-Rus
Prof. Dr. Annemieke Aartsma-Rus is a professor of Translational Genetics at the Department of Human Genetics of the Leiden University Medical Center. Since 2013 she has a visiting professorship at the Institute of Genetic Medicine of Newcastle University (UK).
Her work currently focuses on developing antisense-mediated exon skipping as a therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In addition, in collaborative efforts she aims to bridge the gap between different stakeholders (patients, academics, regulators and industry) involved in drug development for rare diseases.
In 2013 she was elected a member of the junior section of the Dutch Royal Academy of Sciences (KNAW), which consists of what are considered the top 50 scientists in the Netherlands under 45. From 2015 to 2022, she was selected as the most influential scientist in Duchenne muscular dystrophy by Expertscape.
