Single cell RNA sequencing of human FAPs reveals different functional stages in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease produced by mutations in the dystrophin gene characterized by early onset muscle weakness leading to severe and irreversible disability. Muscle degeneration involves a complex interplay between multiple cell lineages spatially located within areas of damage, termed the degenerative niche, including inflammatory cells, satellite cells (SCs) and fibro-adipogenic precursor cells (FAPs). FAPs are mesenchymal stem cell which have a pivotal role in muscle homeostasis as they can either promote muscle regeneration or contribute to muscle degeneration by expanding fibrotic and fatty tissue.

Hospital admissions from the emergency department of adult patients affected by myopathies.

Background And Purpose: Myopathies are associated with classic signs and symptoms, but also with possible life-threatening complications that may require assistance in an emergency setting. This phenomenon is understudied in the literature. We aimed to assess the presentation, management, and outcomes of clinical manifestations potentially related to a muscle disorder requiring referral to the adult emergency department (ED) and hospitalization.

Muscle magnetic resonance imaging of a large cohort of distal hereditary motor neuropathies reveals characteristic features useful for diagnosis.

Distal motor neuropathies (dHMN) are an heterogenous group of diseases characterized by progressive muscle weakness affecting predominantly the distal muscles of the lower and upper limbs. Our aim was to study the imaging features and pattern of muscle involvement in muscle magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in dHMN patients of suspected genetic origin (dHMN). We conducted a retrospective study collecting clinical, genetic and muscle imaging data.

Analysis of muscle magnetic resonance imaging of a large cohort of patient with VCP-mediated disease reveals characteristic features useful for diagnosis.

Background: The diagnosis of patients with mutations in the VCP gene can be complicated due to their broad phenotypic spectrum including myopathy, motor neuron disease and peripheral neuropathy. Muscle MRI guides the diagnosis in neuromuscular diseases (NMDs); however, comprehensive muscle MRI features for VCP patients have not been reported so far.

Methods: We collected muscle MRIs of 80 of the 255 patients who participated in the "VCP International Study" and reviewed the T1-weighted (T1w) and short tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequences.

Neuromuscular disease genetics in under-represented populations: increasing data diversity.

Neuromuscular diseases (NMDs) affect ∼15 million people globally. In high income settings DNA-based diagnosis has transformed care pathways and led to gene-specific therapies. However, most affected families are in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs) with limited access to DNA-based diagnosis.