Muscle disease experts gather for congress (From The Northern Echo)

Muscle disease experts gather for congress

11:00pm Saturday 27th September 2008 in

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THE North-East hosts an annual gathering of muscle disease experts from over the world next week.

The 13th World Muscle Society Congress coincides with a 50th anniversary of Lord John Walton's ground-breaking muscle disease research in Newcastle.

The Newcastle Hospitals' Northern Genetics Service - which is carried out in the Institute of Human Genetics at Newcastle University - is a world leader in muscle disease research.

Over the last 50 years Newcastle-based scientists have made many outstanding contributions to the discovery of underlying causes of debilitating muscle conditions.

The Newcastle Muscle Centre is now leading in the development of revolutionary new treatments which are bringing real benefits for the people of the North-East and beyond.

Muscle diseases can affect people at any age, with as many as an estimated one in every 3000 people suffering from some form of muscle disease, many of which are known to be inherited.

Clinical advances arising from recent genetic research have proved vital to the development of ground breaking treatments for conditions such as Muscular Dystrophy.

Some 550 delegates will be in attendance during the week, visiting Newcastle from all corners of the world to provide an update on the best of the cutting edge research from around the world.

Delegates will hear the latest on the causes of muscle conditions and the newest prospects for treatment.

Two of Newcastle University's leading experts in this field, Professor Kath Bushby and Professor Volker Straub, are among the events main organisers.

One of Prof Bushby's North-East patients, Lee Armstrong, 10, has a condition known as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a severe childhood onset muscular dystrophy which causes progressive muscle weakness. Lee, from Gateshead, is about to take part in a unique trial of a new drug (PTC 124) which offers hope of improving muscle strength and helping him to be able to walk for longer.