These findings add support to the idea that inhibitors of calcineurin, such as cyclosporin and FK506 could be potential therapeutics for certain forms of human heart disease. Finally, Kirk Knowlton and colleagues at University of California, San Diego and Iowa College of Medicine Viral have discovered how the coxsackie B3 virus causes myocarditis-an inflammatory disease of the heart that can lead to cardiomyopathy. The team showed that dystrophin is cleaved during coxsackie infection of mouse heart cells in culture and in vivo. Knowing the molecular mechanism by which viral infection causes heart disease may lead to the development of new treatments. Expanding the therapeutic potential of bone marrow transplantation In a ground-breaking article, Edwin Horwitz and colleagues at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Tennessee report an advance that pushes the frontiers of bone marrow transplantation to test a therapy that may offer relief to thousands of patients suffering from painful bone diseases.
Patients suffer numerous fractures, restricted physical activity and short stature.
At present there is no cure for OI and treatment involves extensive surgical and dental procedures to mend fractures. In severe cases, metal rods are inserted through bones for support. The researchers infused sibling bone marrow into children suffering from OI that had undergone ablative conditioning therapy. They found changes in bone histology to indicate new bone formation, and clinical improvement during the first 6 months after transfusion-the children suffered fewer fractures and grew in height. Flint Beal and associates found that mice modeling the disease that were fed a diet supplemented with creatine showed improved motor activity and survived longer than those on normal diets.