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Common Blood Pressure Drug Reduces Progressive Muscle Degeneration in Mice | Huliq: Breaking News
Scientists supported in part by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) have found that that the commonly prescribed blood pressure medication losartan improves muscle regeneration and repair in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a devastating disease characterized by rapid progression of muscle degeneration in boys and young men.

Blood-pressure drug could also treat muscle disease
A drug commonly used to lower blood pressure reverses muscle wasting in lab mice genetically engineered to develop either Marfan syndrome or Duchenne muscular dystrophy, according to new findings reported by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Nairobi-Kenya | Pain and agony of fighting rare heart disorder
When she extends her hand for a handshake one hesitates to respond.

Not because you do not want to shake her hand but for fear of hurting her.

Her bone structure is frail, giving her body an almost skeletal appearance. Her legs are long and thin, her arms are equally long.

Pediatric Heart Network - ISV for Healthcare Providers
Marfan Study Basics

Marfan is a Trial of Beta Blocker (BB) Therapy (Atenolol) vs. Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker (ARB) Therapy (Losartan) in Individuals with Marfan Syndrome (MFS). The target number of participants is 604. The accrual period is approximately 6 years with recruitment to begin in the Fall of 2006.

Wired News: Old Drug Could Fix Hearts
Jonathan Larson, the Tony Award-winning playwright of the Broadway musical Rent, died of a torn aorta onng day. He was 35 years old.

Scientists believe that a common hypertension drug called losartan could have saved him.

Mutations Distinguish Overlapping Aortic Aneurysm Syndromes - CME Teaching Brief® - MedPage Today
GHENT, Belgium, Aug. 24 — Not so long ago there was just Marfan’s syndrome as an aortic-aneurysm genetic disorder. Now two others have emerged with overlapping signs and symptoms, and there are clinical implications to sorting the three out.

Losartan Q & A from the National Marfan Foundation
Hope and optimism resonated throughout the NMF’s Annual Conference, and the buzz increased after Dr. Hal Dietz presented his recently published data about the impact of losartan, an FDA-approved medication, on mice with Marfan syndrome.

“Scientists at Johns Hopkins have used a commonly prescribed blood pressure medicine, losartan (Cozaar), to prevent a potentially fatal weakening of arteries in mice with Marfan syndrome.

As a result, efforts are already under way with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and its affiliated network of hospitals in the Pediatric Heart Health Network and The Johns Hopkins Hospital to begin a clinical trial for people with Marfan syndrome, which is expected to start in the fall.”

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A commonly prescribed blood pressure medication may provide the first ray of hope in preventing potentially deadly complications of Marfan syndrome, a genetic disease that weakens the structural meshwork of blood vessels.

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