TELETHON AWARDS A PRIZE TO A PROJECT IN COLLABORATION WITH DOCTOR MARTINA PICCOLI

Telethon awards a prize to a project called “A 3D model of muscles and rare muscle dystrophies as a power platform for studies in the mechanism and validation of medicines”, carried out in collaboration with doctor Martina Piccoli researcher of the tissue engineering laboratory of Padua’s Pediatric Research Institute.

The project is headed by professor Sandonà, who has been studying a group of rate genetic diseases, the sarcoglycanopathies, part of the family of limb-girdle muscular dystrophies, characterised by muscle weakness, especially the proximal muscles of the pelvic and shoulder girdles. It will consist of developing platforms on which to create artificial muscles using the cells of the patients directly, in order to identify the molecular mechanisms common in different pathologies, to apply similar therapeutic strategies. In particular small molecules called correctors, used to cure cystic fibrosis, have revealed themselves useful in sarcoglycanopathies too and are currently being assessed in other rare pathologies, such as Brody myopathy and the Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome. For the latter study the group from Padua received financing from “Una vita rara”, a non-profit association, within the Seed Grant initiative of the Telethon Foundation, putting its skills at their disposal to select the best projects to finance.