Rickchallenge - MDA Funds More CMT Research

[Guest guest]

A great challenge at that, Rick! Maybe Paolo or or the other

'quieter ones' will jump on this. ~ G

rick@... wrote:

>

> So here's our challenge. Can the help find a researcher who

> wants to snag some Muscular Dystrophy Association funds to develop a

> therapy for CMT? From the current issue of QUEST, the monthly

> magazine of the MDA:

>

> As knowledge about the genetic causes of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

> (CMT) grows, MDA is encouraging researchers to translate that

> knowledge into treatment strategies.

>

> MDA-funded researchers have been sorting through a maze of CMT types,

> each one cause by a distinct genetic defect. To date, they've

> uncovered clues to nearly 20 CMT-linked genes, and identified nine of

> them.

>

> All types of CMT cause breakdown of the peripheral nerves, leading to

> weakness and sensory loss in the extremities. The nine discovered

> genes - essential to the axons (the " wires " inside the nerves), or

> myelin (the insulation around the wires) - have helped unravel steps

> in that disease process.

>

> " MDA funds are availalbe for projects that have the clear goal of

> developing a therapy for any form of CMT, " MDA Director of Research

> Development Sharon Hesterlee announced in a recent briefing to past

> and present MDA grantees. " Such projects may involve gene transfer,

> stem cells or drug interventions, and will be given high-priority

> status during the evaluation process. "

>

>

> Foundation: http://www..org

>

>