(4 April 2016) A breakthrough in the study of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and two awards for the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Trieste. The MDA, the American Association for the treatment of muscular dystrophies, has assigned to the group of Human Molecular Genetics headed by prof. Franco Pagani a 225 thousand $ loan for a period of three years, to study a new treatment strategy for spinal muscular atrophy. The project is the only Italian of 41 selected internationally. At the same time the prestigious “Nature Communications” magazine has published today the first search results in progress, also funded by Telethon and by the French Muscular Dystrophy AFM: these are the first data in vivo in animals, which show the effectiveness and the safety of the new therapeutic approach. (red)
