DM1

The Jensen family hosts an incredible crawfish boil each summer to support Care and a Cure. This year’s boil was bigger than ever with San Diego Harley-Davidson as a partner. To date, this event has raised nearly $100,000! Read more here.

“Participating in a research study will help the greater good, and I’m hoping one may help me too,” says Caroline Easterling about why she participates in DM research. Read on for Caroline’s advice for participants.

Researchers in Europe have reported findings from a large cohort, where significant numbers of patients with DM-like symptoms do not have the known DMPK or CNBP repeat expansions. Considerable progress has been made in understanding the genetics and pathogenic mechanisms of DM. However, unknown factors (other mutations, modifier genes) very likely will be critical to models of disease onset and progression, as well as for development of impactful therapies. This latest report, valuable because of the large, carefully assessed cohort, suggests that MBNL1 variants, theoretically a potential cause of DM, exist but are rare and thus unlikely a major contributor to DM.

Researchers from the University of Costa Rica and the University of Glasgow teamed up to investigate the DNA mutation causing myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). They found that polymorphism in the MSH3 mismatch repair gene is associated with the levels of somatic instability of the expanded CTG repeat in the blood DNA of myotonic dystrophy type 1 patients.