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In March 2001, the National Institutes of Health issued the following warning: "The number of Web sites offering health-related resources grows every day. Many sites provide valuable information, while others may have information that is unreliable or misleading." Furthermore, because of the rapid increase in Internet-based information, many hours can be wasted searching, selecting, and printing. Since only the smallest fraction of information dealing with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy is indexed in search engines, such as www.google.com or others, a non-systematic approach to Internet research can be not only time consuming, but also incomplete. This book was created for medical professionals, students, and members of the general public who want to conduct medical research using the most advanced tools available and spending the least amount of time doing so. ... Read more

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Katherine Bushby and Louise Anderson assemble an outstanding collection of key techniques for the analysis of DNA and protein from patients suspected to suffer from muscular dystrophy. Each method is highly detailed to ensure success and is presented by a hands-on expert. The various DNA techniques focus on both the X-linked muscular dystrophies and the autosomal recessive muscular dystrophies. The protein methods include expression analysis, multiplex western blot analysis, immunocytochemical analysis, and reviews of immunological reagents and of amplification systems. Comprehensive and highly practical, Muscular Dystrophy: Methods and Protocols offers today's diagnostic laboratories, basic and medical researchers, and clinicians an authoritative collection of tools that will serve as exacting diagnostic tools as well as greatly empowering research on the novel therapeutics now beginning to emerge. ... Read more

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This book has been created for patients who have decided to make education and research an integral part of the treatment process. Although it also gives information useful to doctors, caregivers and other health professionals, it tells patients where and how to look for information covering virtually all topics related to muscular dystrophy (also Distal muscular dystrophy; Duchenne's muscular dystrophy; Erb's muscular dystrophy; Facioscapulohumeral disease; Fukuyama syndrome; Gower's syndrome), from the essentials to the most advanced areas of research. The title of this book includes the word official. This reflects the fact that the sourcebook draws from public, academic, government, and peer-reviewed research. Selected readings from various agencies are reproduced to give you some of the latest official information available to date on muscular dystrophy. Given patients' increasing sophistication in using the Internet, abundant references to reliable Internet-based resources are provided throughout this sourcebook. Where possible, guidance is provided on how to obtain free-of-charge, primary research results as well as more detailed information via the Internet. E-book and electronic versions of this sourcebook are fully interactive with each of the Internet sites mentioned (clicking on a hyperlink automatically opens your browser to the site indicated). Hard-copy users of this sourcebook can type cited Web addresses directly into their browsers to obtain access to the corresponding sites. In addition to extensive references accessible via the Internet, chapters include glossaries of technical or uncommon terms. ... Read more

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This volume assesses research, in humans and in animals, on myoblast transfer and gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The contributors describe and compare two different animal models used in current experiments on DMD therapy: the xmd dog, which exhibits skeletal muscular dystrophy similar to human DMD, and the mdx mouse, which shares the genetic dystrophin defect underlying the disease, but does not develop severe progressive skeletal myopathy. Noted experts analyze studies on myoblast transfer in DMD patients and animals, explore new strategies for direct gene transfer in DMD, and discuss the relative feasibility of donor myoblast transfer, direct gene transfer, and patient myoblast-mediated gene transfer. ... Read more

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Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a genetic disorder involving slowly progressive muscle degeneration in which the muscles of the face, shoulder blades and upper arms are among the most severely affected. It is the third most common inherited muscular dystrophy, affecting 1 in 20,000. The search for the molecular basis of the disease is of interest to all genetic researchers, involving a deletion outside a coding region resulting in over-expression of adjacent genes. This volume summarizes the current understanding of the disorder, including clinical, molecular and therapeutic aspects. ... Read more

Product Description
In March 2001, the National Institutes of Health issued the following warning: "The number of Web sites offering health-related resources grows every day. Many sites provide valuable information, while others may have information that is unreliable or misleading."Furthermore, because of the rapid increase in Internet-based information, many hours can be wasted searching, selecting, and printing.This book was created for medical professionals, students, and members of the general public who want to conduct medical research using the most advanced tools available and spending the least amount of time doing so. ... Read more

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This text is devoted to the development of a treatment for human muscular dystrophies called myoblast transfer therapy. Written by the pioneer of the procedure, the text presents a review with critical evaluation of both basic experimentation and clinical trials. Traversing the fields of genetics, neurology, paediatrics, immunology, surgery and developmental biology, this book describes current methodology and results of the clinical trial, as well as explaining future perspectives. ... Read more

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The muscular dystrophies (MD) are a group of genetic diseases characterised by progressive weakness and degeneration of the skeletal muscles which control movement. There are many forms of muscular dystrophy, some noticeable at birth (congenital muscular dystrophy), others in adolescence (Becker MD), but the 3 most common types are Duchenne, facioscapulohumeral, and myotonic. These three types differ in terms of pattern of inheritance, age of onset, rate of progression, and distribution of weakness. Duchenne MD primarily affects boys and is the result of mutations in the gene that regulates dystrophin - a protein involved in maintaining the integrity of muscle fibre. Onset is between 3-5 years and progresses rapidly. Most boys become unable to walk at 12, and by 20 have to use a respirator to breathe. Facioscapulohumeral MD appears in adolescence and causes progressive weakness in facial muscles and certain muscles in the arms and legs. It progresses slowly and can vary in symptoms from mild to disabling.Myotonic MD varies in the age of onset and is characterised by myotonia (prolonged muscle spasm) in the fingers and facial muscles; a floppy-footed, high-stepping gait; cataracts; cardiac abnormalities; and endocrine disturbances. Individuals with myotonic MD have long faces and drooping eyelids; men have frontal baldness. This volume presents leading-edge research results on MD. ... Read more