News

Researchers have found that mitochondrial DNA copy number may be useful as an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease. The study titled, “Association of Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number With Cardiovascular Disease,” was published in JAMA Cardiology. Mitochondrial DNA copy number, which refers to the amount of DNA in the…

Mitochon Pharmaceuticals has received a grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) to help develop its mitochondrial targeted compounds for treating Parkinson’s disease. The grant, whose amount wasn’t disclosed, will fund animal studies to evaluate the benefits of MP101 and MP102 in…

A leading expert on mitochondrial disease will be among more than 80 speakers at this month’s Rare Disease & Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit in Washington. The two-day event Oct. 16-17 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel will be hosted by the nonprofit National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).

Determining the respiratory chain enzyme activity in kidney tissue samples could provide useful information for diagnosing mitochondrial dysfunction in children with renal impairment, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. Diseases stemming from mitochondrial dysfunction can be difficult to diagnose because of symptoms similar to other…

Stealth BioTherapeutics‘ investigational medicine elamipretide, formerly known as Bendavia, has been granted orphan drug status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) for the treatment of primary mitochondrial myopathy (PMM). Stealth specializes in the development of drug candidates for mitochondrial disease treatment. The FDA’s Office of Orphan…

Researchers have found more than 60 mitochondrial biomarkers that can be used to predict tumor recurrence in breast cancer patients who were previously treated with tamoxifen, according to a new study. This finding not only opens new possibilities to identify high-risk patients for cancer recurrence, allowing…

Veterans with Gulf War Illness (GWI) — a chronic multi-symptom disorder not currently diagnosed by standard medical or laboratory tests — have mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage consistent with mitochondrial dysfunction, a new study shows. The study, “Role of mitochondrial DNA damage and dysfunction in veterans with Gulf War Illness,”…

Researchers have found that a protein called Dpr1 helps cells destroy damaged mitochondria, improving the health and lifespan of middle-aged fruit flies. David W. Walker, professor of integrative biology and physiology at the University of California Los Angeles, believes the findings by his team may eventually help scientists delay the onset of several…

The therapeutics platform developed by Mitobridge, a biopharmaceutical company developing medicines to improve mitochondria function, will now include modulators of the Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) pathway, the company announced. NAD+ is an essential coenzyme to our cells’ metabolic reactions, cell signaling and energy production by mitochondria. A coenzyme is a small…

In honor of Global Mitochondrial Awareness Week, which takes place Sept. 17-23, MitoAction will host a podcast presentation by Dr. Richard Frye on how gut microbiome modulates mitochondrial function. Frye directs autism research at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute in Little Rock. A pediatrician and neurologist, he specializes in…