Anti-inflammatory nanoparticles could be applied to the weakening muscles of DMD patients
Muscular dystrophies are a group of genetic diseases that lead to the progressive loss of muscle mass and function in patients, with the incurable Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), which affects all the body s muscles primarily in boys, being particularly severe.
DMD can be caused by more than 7,000 unique mutations in the largest gene of the human genome, which encodes a central protein in muscle fibers. While this astounding number of mutations all variably block muscle function, the affected muscles share another common feature - chronic inflammation.
As chronic inflammation significantly contributes to the speed and severity of muscle degeneration, researchers are pursuing different anti-inflammatory approaches that could be applied to the weakening muscles of DMD patients.
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While in high school, Rahel Imru didn’t see many Black students in her upper-level science classes. She decided to change that and carried her passion to Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.