Mitochondrial Myopathy News

Role of Mitochondria in Heart Disease Should Not Be Underestimated

  Researchers have reviewed the role of mitochondria in cardiac diseases, highlighting different aspects of these multifaceted organelles and pointing out key processes, that, if deregulated, can lead to heart disease. Heart muscle cells – or cardiomyocytes – rely heavily on mitochondria for their energy needs. Different mitochondrial processes that can be…

Reata Enrolls First Patient in RTA 408 Trial for Mitochondrial Myopathies

Irving, Texas-based Reata Pharmaceuticals has just announced the enrollment of the first patient in the company’s Phase II MOTOR clinical trial. This study will seek to determine the safety, tolerability and efficacy of Reata’s experimental RTA 408 Oral Capsules as a potential treatment for mitochondrial myopathies (MM). RTA-408 works to improve mitochondrial…

Cutting-edge Imaging Techniques Reveal New mtDNA Control Processes That May Be Involved In Mitochondrial Diseases

Mitochondria consist of small structures having evolved from bacteria engulfed by cells. This bacterial origin explains why mitochondria has its own genetic material (mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA) distinct from the nuclear DNA (nDNA). Most mitochondrial genes were transferred to the nucleus over time, but mtDNA still codes for 13 different proteins. Though…