Publications by authors named "F Muntoni"

The severity of brain comorbidities in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) depends on the mutation position within the DMD gene and differential loss of distinct brain dystrophin isoforms (i.e. Dp427, Dp140, Dp71).

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Background And Objectives: Hypotonia is a relatively common finding among infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Consideration of genetic testing is recommended early in the care of infants with unexplained hypotonia. We aimed to assess the diagnostic yield and overall impact of exome and genome sequencing (ES and GS).

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Dystrophin is a protein crucial for maintaining the structural integrity of skeletal muscle. So far, the attention was focused on the role of dystrophin in muscle in view of the devastating progression of weakness and early death that characterises Duchenne muscular dystrophy. However, in the last few years, the role of shorter dystrophin isoforms, including development and adult expression-specific mechanisms, has been a greater focus.

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Background: Antisense oligonucleotides (AON) represent a promising treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) carrying out-of-frame deletions, but also show limitations. In a completed clinical trial golodirsen, approved by FDA to induce skipping of DMD gene exon 53 in eligible patients, we demonstrated increase in DMD expression and protein production, albeit with inter-patient variability.

Methods: Here, we investigate further the golodirsen mechanism of action using myotubes derived from MyoD transfected fibroblasts isolated from DMD patients at the baseline of the clinical trial SRP-4053.

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Stride velocity 95th centile (SV95C) is a wearable-derived endpoint representing the 5% fastest strides taken during everyday living. In July 2023, SV95C received European Medicines Agency (EMA) qualification for use as a primary endpoint in trials of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) aged ≥ 4 years-becoming the first digital endpoint to receive such qualification. We present the data supporting this qualification, providing insights into the evidentiary basis of qualification as a digital clinical outcome assessment.

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