Latest news

The 8th edition of international congress dedicated to neuromuscular science, MYOLOGY 2024, will take place in Paris from 22 to 25 April 2024. Registration and call for abstract are now open : don't miss an opportunity to showcase your latest study to an international community of scientists and healthcare professionals. The deadline for abstract submission has been extended until November 30, 2023 - 11:59 pm.

The first clinical results of the gene therapy for the treatment of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2I/R9 show good preliminary efficacy and biological tolerability. These first results have been presented during oral communications during the 30th Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ESGCT) and will be presented in the 2023 International Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Conference in Washington DC.

A review published by two researchers at I-Stem, one of the AFM-Téléthon laboratories, takes stock of human pluripotent stem cells (hiPS) and confirms their main advantages in neuromuscular diseases: improving understanding and identifying new treatments.

The 30th of September is Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Day. At this occasion, the LGMD Interest Group of the AFM-Téléthon is planning an information day about these diseases in Evry. 

The 10th World Duchenne Awareness Day, on September 7, is a call to action to break down the physical, social and healthcare barriers faced by the 250,000 people around the world affected by this disease. It's also an opportunity to take stock of advances in research into this disease, which is emblematic of our Association. 

In an article published in July 2023, an Italian researcher traces the birth and development of myology. This medical science of muscle and its diseases has developed over time, not only thanks to the advent of tools and technologies that improve our knowledge of muscle, but also thanks to the international collaborations that have marked its history.

Results published in The New England Journal of Medicine demonstrate the safety and tolerance for gene therapy in Crigler-Najjar syndrome as well as its efficacy at the highest dose. This rare liver disease is characterized by a toxic build-up of bilirubin in the body, which can cause significant neurological damage and become fatal. 

Cure through Innovation is a booklet that sums up the main actions and missions of the AFM-Téléthon association, as well as the key figures for 2022. The July 2023 edition has just been published!

Characterized by fatigue and muscle weakness that fluctuate over time, autoimmune myasthenia gravis is the subject of the very first European Myasthenia Gravis Day, on 2 June 2023. The aim is to give as many people as possible an understanding of the impact of this unpredictable and often invisible disease, and to standardize the way it is treated across Europe. 

The Genother biocluster, dedicated to accelerating the development of gene therapy drugs, of which Genethon is one of the founders, is one of the 5 winners of the France 2030 call for expressions of interest. This labelling, announced on 16 May by the French President, will strengthen France's leadership in the field of gene therapy, one of the most dynamic areas of biomedical research.

On April 12, Prof. Judith Melki succeeded Odile Boespflug-Tanguy as president of the AFM-Telethon’s Scientific Advisory Board. Professor Emeritus of medical genetics, Judith Melki is at the origin of the discovery of the SMN gene, responsible for spinal muscular atrophy.

ILTOO Pharma and the European consortium MIROCALS have just announced the signing of a license agreement for the development of a low-dose Interleukin 2 as a potential treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The AFM-Telethon helped finance this clinical study, which shows an improvement in patient survival. 

Thank you to everyone: donors, volunteers mobilized throughout France and abroad, families, partners, personalities! Thanks to your mobilization on December 2 and 3, the Telethon 2022 raised 90,839,067 euros! This tremendous result - the best since 2016 - shows how much the French people support the families’ fight against rare diseases.

Because muscles are a major public health issue, AFM-Telethon and the Institute of Myology, an international center of expertise on muscles and their diseases, are carrying out a project for a Myology Foundation. In addition, to raise awareness on myology among the public, they are launching two events dedicated to this public health issue in June 2023: the Muscle Conferences and Muscle Week. 

Their determination and expertise are at the origin of great scientific advances and major victories. Thanks to the researchers in the Telethon laboratories, children suffering from formerly incurable diseases have been saved.