Myostatin Mutation Associated with Gross Muscle Hypertrophy in a Child

Uscle wasting and weakness are among the most common inherited and acquired disorders and include the muscular dystrophies, cachexia, and age-related wasting. Since there is no generally accepted treatment to improve muscle bulk and strength, these conditions pose a substantial burden to patients as well as to public health. Consequently, there has been considerable interest in a recently described inhibitor of muscle growth, myostatin, or growth/ differentiation factor 8 (GDF-8), which belongs to the transforming growth factor b superfamily of secreted proteins that control the growth and differentiation of tissues throughout the body. The myostatin gene is expressed almost exclusively in cells of…