Current research grants

Bethlem myopathy and Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy - Prof K. Bushby

This two year project is aimed at investigating whether or not cyclosporin A could potentially be used as a treatment for Bethlem myopathy and Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease - Dr M. Reilly

This three-year project is a clinical trial investigating the possiblity of using Vitamin C as a treatment for Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A.

Congenital myasthenic syndromes - Prof D. Beeson

This three year project is investigating a gene that may be involved in the development of congenital myasthenic syndromes.

Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy, Dr R. Roberts

The dystrophin protein, which is defective in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD, BMD), consists of a long rod, with functional Dr Roberts wishes to investigate which, if any, proteins interact with the “rod” region of the dystrophin protein (the protein that is missing in Duchenne muscular dystrophy) in order to understand more about its function both in muscle and non-muscle cells.


Duchenne muscular dystrophy - Dr I. Graham and Dr M. Wood

Drs Graham and Wood aim to optimise reagents for exon skipping in a project that complements the MDEX clinical trial.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Dr R. Quinlivan

This study proposes to investigate the use of a novel ankle foot orthosis to assist walking in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Prof K. Davies

Prof Kay Davies and her colleagues at the University of Oxford are attempting to find a drug that will increase the levels of a protein called utrophin. It is thought this protein may be able to compensate for the lack of dystrophin in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Prof. V. Straub

The focus of this grant is the development of non-invasive methods to assess muscle damage and repair. This will assist clinicians in monitoring both disease progression as well as the benefits of potential treatments.

Limb girdle muscular dystrophy/Miyoshi myopathy/Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Prof K. Bushby

This research will investigate if long-term treatment with a chemical called Poloaxamer 188 has the potential to slow disease progression in different mouse models of muscular dystrophies.

Mitochondrial myopathy, Prof. D Turnbull

The majority of genes are carried in the nucleus, but there are some which are carried in structures called mitochondria. Errors in these genes cause mitochondrial disorders. This group will investigate methods which will prevent inheritance of errors on mitochondrial genes, but allow inheritance of nuclear genes from the parents.

Mitochondrial Myopathy, Prof. D Turnbull

The overall aim of this study is to determine if an exercise regime could be of benefit to people with mitochondrial myopathy.

Muscle stem cells, Dr J. morgan

This project aims to use models of a particular group of muscular dystrophies - called the dystroglycanopathies - to investigate satellite cell behaviour. Understanding more about this may help in the development of therapies using satellite cells.

Muscle stem cells - Dr P. Zammit

Dr Zammit is investigating muscle stem cells to learn more about how they function and why some muscle stem cells have different properties to others - an important issue if they are ever to be used as a potential therapy for muscular dystrophy.

Muscle Stem Cells, Dr P. Zammit

The aim of this project is to investigate factors that affect the efficiency of satellite cells when regenerating muscles. This information is important for the development of therapies that might utilise satellite cells to treat muscular dystrophies

Muscular dystrophies, Dr M. Rose

This one year project is exploring the quality of life of people with muscle disease and how psychosocial factors can impact upon it. This will help to devise strategies that might help people with muscle disease improve their quality of life even if the muscle disease itself cannot be treated.

Myotonic Dystrophy - Prof D. Monckton

The research in this project, looking at triplet repeat number in blood and muscle, is aimed at improving prognostic information for patients diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy as well as providing information for clinical trials of new therapies.