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    Neurotherapeutics. 2008 Oct;5(4):601-6. doi: 10.1016/j.nurt.2008.07.005.

    Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

    Source

    University of Rochester Medical Center, Neuromuscular Disease Center, Rochester, New York 14642, USA. Rabi_Tawil@URMC.Rochester.edu

    Abstract

    Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), a dominantly inherited disorder, is the third most common dystrophy after Duchenne and myotonic muscular dystrophy. No known effective treatments exist for FSHD. The lack of an understanding of the underlying pathophysiology remains an obstacle in the development of targeted therapeutic interventions. The genetic defect is a loss of a critical number of a repetitive element (D4Z4) in the 4q subtelomeric region. The loss of the repeats results in specific changes in chromatin structure, although neither the molecular nor the cellular consequences of this change are known. Nevertheless, these epigenetic changes in chromatin structure offer a potential therapeutic target. This review discusses current management strategies in FSHD as well as potential therapeutic interventions to slow down or reverse the progressive muscle atrophy and weakness.

    PMID:
    19019312
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
    PMCID:
    PMC2628543
    Free PMC Article

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