Grant Applications Due Today for MDF Fellowships

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The Myotonic Dystrophy Organization continues its strong support of Research by soliciting applications for fellowship grants. This program helps to encourage budding researchers in the field of myotonic Dystrophy. The grants are due today Sept 14th 2012 at 5PM Pacific time. The following is from the MDF website www.myotonic.org

Grant Applications

Call for Postdoctoral Fellowship Applications

The Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation (MDF) is pleased to announce the 5th annual Fund-A-Fellow program to support innovative research on myotonic dystrophy. On January 1, 2013, MDF will award a number of $100,000 postdoctoral research fellowships, each providing two years of support at $50,000 per fellowship, per year.

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Provigil Survey Finds Strong Support From Myotonic Dystrophy Patients

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For quite a few years, I have been strongly advocating the use of Provigil the brand name for modafinil for helping with sleep related issues n Myotonic Dystrophy. Many patients with myotonic dystrophy have tremendous issues with excessive sleep and sleep disruptions.  A study from France in 2009 concluded that a controlled study showed “no significant effects on daytime sleepiness” This study puzzled me as many patients reported very good results from this drug.

A survey conducted by the Myotonic Dystrophy Support Group,  MDSG in England has concluded that over 80% of survey respondents found that the drug had a marked benefit or a dramatic benefit. This concurs with the informal feedback that I have had here in the USA. This also focuses attention on patient centered approaches versus medical centered approaches. Patient centered approaches are very important to give direct patient feedback rather than just visibility to medical professionals opinions based on limited patient facts.

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Myotonic Dystrophy – A preventable disease – Why HealthCare Reform is Needed

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Christopher M is a happy contented 22-year-old man. He functions at a 2-year-old level, requires 24/7 supervision, has multiple medical problems, Brain, lungs, GI tract, Heart, Muscles. His medical costs to date are over $2 million dollars and education and other support over $1 million. Christopher M has congenital  myotonic dystrophy a neuromuscular disease with no cure, no treatment except symptom relief.  This congenital form is caused by the conception and birth or a child to a mother who has the adult form of the disease. Whats has even more impact is that each generation with myotonic dystrophy the children get sicker and have more and more severe symptoms.

Both the these diseases DM1 and the congenital form of the disease (CMD) can be prevented by using Pre-Implant Genetics (PGD) along with in vitro fertilization  (IVF) for those who wish to have a health child. Myotonic Dystrophy is preventable in most cases, except where religious belief would interfere with IVF.

 

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Staying upright with a Neuromuscular disease like Myotonic Dystrophy

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Staying Upright with a Neuromuscular Disease

From: Multiple Sclerosis Society Quest newsletter, written by Christan Medvescek

Some people have nightmares about falling off cliffs. Brad Williams has nightmares about falling — period.

“Whenever I’m walking, falling down is always the major thought on my mind,” says Williams, 39, of Alexandria, Va. “It has to be on my mind a lot for me to be dreaming about it.”

Williams has Miyoshi distal myopathy, a slowly progressive form of muscular dystrophy that primarily affects the extremities. He hosts an MDA Internet chat under the nickname “dysf,” and notes that other chat participants also have reported falling nightmares. “It’s like a flying-falling dream, except it’s just about falling down.”

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Falls and stumbles in Myotonic Dystrophy DM Patients

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Falls and stumbles are TEN times more likely in patients with myotonic Dystrophy that in a normal healthy population. One reason for the fall or stumble would be for a sustained muscle contraction that can not be counterbalanced by other muscles. Fall prevention programs should be implemented for patients with DM.

 

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2006 March; 77(3): 393–396.

Published online 2005 September 30. doi:  10.1136/jnnp.2005.066258
PMCID: PMC2077718

Falls and stumbles in myotonic dystrophy

This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

Abstract

Objective

To investigate falls and risk factors in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) compared with healthy volunteers.

Methods

13 sequential patients with DM1 from different kindreds were compared with 12 healthy volunteers. All subjects were evaluated using the Rivermead Mobility Index, Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment, and modified Activities Specific Balance Confidence scale. Measures of lower limb muscle strength, gait speed, and 7‐day ambulatory activity monitoring were recorded. Subjects returned a weekly card detailing stumbles and falls.

Results

11 of 13 patients (mean age 46.5 years, seven female) had 127 stumbles and 34 falls over the 13 weeks, compared with 10 of 12 healthy subjects (34.4 years, seven female) who had 26 stumbles and three falls. Patients were less active than healthy subjects but had more falls and stumbles per 5000 right steps taken (mean (SD) events, 0.21 (0.29) v 0.02 (0.02), p = 0.007). Patients who fell (n = 6) had on average a lower Rivermead Mobility score, slower self selected gait speed, and higher depression scores than those who did not.

Conclusions

DM1 patients stumble or fall about 10 times more often than healthy volunteers. Routine inquiry about falls and stumbles is justified. A study of multidisciplinary intervention to reduce the risk of falls seems warranted.

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