General Information on DM1

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This is a diagram or the major effects of Myotonic Dystrophy on the Human. Click to enlarge

The Blog. You’ve reached this site as you may be the one of nearly one million people affected by Myotonic Dystrophy  Worldwide. This site aggregates and publishes all information on Myotonic Dystrophy Myotonic Dystrophy is a disease that is genetically based and inherited from one generation to the next. One out of two children of a person  with myotonic dystrophy will most likely have  the disease. Unlike most diseases, the symptoms that a person with this disease varies from person to person. Some people are just mildly affected others are severely affected. This makes it hard to tell you exactly how the disease will affect a particular person.

Myotonic dystrophy is a rare disease with an incidence of about one in 8000 in European and North American Populations. The incidence in Japan is approximately 1 in 20,000. In Africa and China the incidence is much lower.  The incidence of the congenital form of myotonic dystrophy  is much lower with an incidence of 1/100,000. A more recent study by Campbell in Canada put the incidence of the congenital form at 1/47,000 That means that most doctors will not have a patient with the disease in their practice. Thus, many people are turning to organizations like the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation for help and assistance.

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Isis Pharmaceuticals Myotonic Drug

Informal reports continue to give good vibes on the drug that Isis pharmaceuticals is developing for myotonic dystrophy (DM). The drug is an antisense approach one that will break up the clogs that are causing the DM disease. Very little information is being released by the company, however.

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Myotonic Dystrophy Testing Costs

What is the cost for confirming the diagnosis for Myotonic Dystrophy. Do patents affect this cost? This Data is current as of May 2013

The costs for patents and access to testing is a major cost in the Myotonic Dystrophy Field. Here is a brief review of the costs.

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Myotonic Fundraiser Tweet #raceforall

A retired surgeon from Bosham wants to raise as much money as possible for the Myotonic Dystrophy Support Group in England in support of three family members who suffer from the condition when he once again takes part in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. Tweet #raceforall to raise 10p ( about 16 USA cents)
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Report of using BiPAP with Infants Newborns with Congential Form of Myotonic Dystrophy

Successful use of BiPAP in infants with congenital myotonic dystrophy.

Source

Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Duchess of Kent Children’s Hospital and Queen Mary Hospital, LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Abstract

Reported herein are two cases of severe phenotype of congenital myotonic dystrophy (CDM) with presentation of respiratory insufficiency at birth. The infants were successfully managed with bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) via nasal mask. The use of BiPAP in infants with CDM has not been reported before. The rationale for using BiPAP is discussed. BiPAP may be more effective than continuous positive airway pressure in managing respiratory insufficiency, especially in infants with the more severe phenotype of CDM.

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Isis Myotonic Drug Considered for Autism Accelerated Trials

The fast fail initiative is considering many potential autism drugs including Isis Pharmaceutical’s pending drug to treat myotonic dystrophy. This  “FAST FAIL” initiative funded by NIH looks at promising drugs to treat Autism and several other conditions. It enables the drug to go to human trials earlier and see if the drug will pan out. The Isis drug by far is the most probable drug to treat and reverse the course of the Autism disease.

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