Scientists supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, 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. The research is based on similarities in the mechanism of DMD and another rare disease — Marfan syndrome — and the discovery that losartan is effective in blocking the key mechanism in animal models of both diseases. Further studies of the drug, scientists emphasize, are needed to assess its value in patients.>>> Discuss This Story
