• Question: Is it possible for people with with muscle degenarating diseases to have muscle transplants?

    Asked by henryjones to Clare, Mariana, Pedro, Robert, Susanne on 19 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Susanne Muekusch

      Susanne Muekusch answered on 19 Nov 2012:

      Hi henry,

      For me this is unheard of. Depending on why the muscles degenerate it wouldn’t help, because some muscle degenerating diseases are actually a neurological disease. When the neurons that innervate the muscles die, there is no point in substituting the muscle. Wouldn’t help.

      Even if the muscle is the problem: If you transplant muscles, they would need to get innervated in the right way to function properly. While it might be possible to link the transplanted muscle to the bones (although I imagine it to be difficult) the main problem in my opinion is the innvervation. It might be possible to develop therapies with stem cells. When the muscle slowly is growing in the body, the neurons can react and innervate it while it is growing. But that are just dreams of the future.

    • Photo: Robert Insall

      Robert Insall answered on 19 Nov 2012:

      This person think so:

      http://www.hsci.harvard.edu/people/amy-wagers-phd

    • Photo: Clare Taylor

      Clare Taylor answered on 19 Nov 2012:

      I had never heard of this either but I found some research papers showing that researchers transplanted muscle into mice with muscular dystrophy way back in 1972! Who knew!?

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