The disclosure concerns a method for assessing muscular dystrophy-linked protein expression in muscle fibers using digital image analysis of tissue. The method relates to assessing disease severity in individuals with muscular dystrophy. Muscle tissue samples are obtained from patients submitted for evaluation and processed to produce tissue sections mounted on glass slides which have been stained for a muscular dystrophy-linked protein. Digital images of the stained tissue sections are generated and analyzed by applying an algorithm process implemented by a computer to the images. The algorithm process extracts the morphometric and staining features of the muscular dystrophy-linked protein staining in the tissue, and parameters relating to these features are used to score the disease status for each patient submitted for evaluation. The score of disease status is ultimately used to infer disease severity, monitor the efficacy of a therapeutic approach, or select patients as candidates for a therapeutic approach.

Methods, devices, kits and systems for diagnosing inclusion body myositis (IBM) are provided. Methods, devices, kits and systems involves detecting the presence and/or level of autoantibodies that are reactive against at least a ˜43 kilodalton (kDa) protein or ˜43 kDa protein band from a muscle lysate or a mammalian cell lysate, or autoantibodies that are reactive against a cytosolic 5′-nucleotidase 1A protein (NT5C1A), or a cytosolic 5′-nucleotidase 1B protein (NT5C1B), or a NT5C1B isoform thereof, or a peptide fragment thereof, an isolated peptide thereof or a fusion protein comprising an isolated peptide of NT5C1A or NT5C1B. Such autoantibodies are only found in IBM patients and not in patients with other myopathies.

Disclosed are methods of enriching collagen fragments in a sample comprising combining a sample comprising collagen fragments with a composition comprising any one of the dimeric CHPs described herein, and wherein the first CHP and second CHP bind to and form a triple helix with a collagen fragment; and removing the bound collagen fragments from the dimeric CHP providing a product enriched with collagen fragments. Disclosed are methods of detecting collagen in a sample comprising enriching collagen fragments from a sample, wherein enriching the collagen fragments comprises combining a sample comprising collagen fragments with a composition comprising a dimeric CHP, wherein the dimeric CHP comprises a first CHP and a second CHP, one or more linkers, and a branch point, wherein the collagen fragments bind the dimeric CHP; and detecting the binding of the collagen fragments to the dimeric CHP.

This invention is in the field of Biomarkers. In particular, it relates to biomarker being predictive of muscle atrophy. The invention relates to the use of such biomarker for selectively treating a patient having muscle atrophy and a method of predicting the likelihood that a patient having muscle atrophy will respond to treatment with a muscle anabolic agent.

The invention provides therapeutic, engineered protein/peptide compositions comprising e.g., RAGE antibodies, T-cell receptors to target a RAGE receptor (including soluble forms thereof) directly and/or via differential competition with one or more pre-cachexia and/or cachexia-associated RAGE ligands or markers.

Disclosed is a method for evaluating the ability of a chemical substance or a chemical composition to prevent muscle fatigue and damage induced by physical exertion in humans; edible composition including at least one salt of a multivalent metal cation, at least one compound selected between vitamin E or vitamin E acetate, at least one edible polyphenol compound selected from compounds of the flavonol family, compounds of the anthocyanin family, compounds of the phenolic acid family and compounds of the flavonol family and/or the glucosylated derivatives thereof, in which the molar ratio/is of at least 0.50 and not more than 2.00; its use as a food supplement or for preparing a food supplement composition or as a drug for preventing muscle fatigue and/or muscle damage induced by physical exertion, in a method for the treatment of the human body by therapy.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a monoclonal antibody that is useful in specifically assaying tartrate resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP-5b). A hybridoma producing a monoclonal antibody against TRACP-5b, said monoclonal antibody showing higher reactivity with TRACP-5b than with tartrate resistant acid phosphatase 5a (TRACP-5a) and, therefore, being specific to TRACP-5b, is obtained by cell fusion using, as an antigen, human recombinant TRACP-5b purified from silkworm silk gland. By using this monoclonal antibody, TRACP-5b in a specimen can be highly sensitively and specifically detected.

A method for the in vitro detection of cartilage tissue and/or for the in vitro determination of the purity of cartilage tissue includes: a) treating a tissue sample with a protease and b) testing the protease-treated tissue sample for the presence of protease-resistant fragments of type II collagen and/or type I collagen. Methods can be carried out for preparing a cartilage cell culture, and for preparing a cartilage cell-loaded implant. Protease-resistant fragments of type II collagen and/or type I collagen can be used for the in vitro detection of cartilage tissue and/or for the in vitro determination of the purity of cartilage tissue. A kit can be used for carrying out the methods.

The present invention relates to the screening, diagnosis, prognostic evaluation, and treatment or prevention of age associated inflammation, chronic inflammation, and inflammatory diseases. In particular, the present invention relates to treating or preventing inflammatory diseases (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis or spondyloarthritis) or patients with inflammatory peripheral GnRH with GnRH antagonists or drugs that lower the effects of GnRH.

The present invention relates to the fields of life sciences and medicine. Specifically, the invention relates to a method for determining a mitochondrial disorder of a subject or predicting a prognosis of a subject having a mitochondrial disorder, wherein the method comprises determining specific biomarkers from a sample of a subject. Also, the present invention relates to a method of selecting a treatment for a subject having a mitochondrial disorder or following up a treatment of a subject having a mitochondrial disorder, wherein the method comprises determining specific biomarkers from a sample of a subject. Still, the present invention relates to a kit comprising tools for determining said specific biomarkers from a sample of a subject and to use of the kit or specific biomarkers of the present invention for determining a mitochondrial disorder of a subject, predicting a prognosis of a subject having a mitochondrial disorder, selecting a treatment for a subject having a mitochondrial disorder or following up a treatment of a subject having a mitochondrial disorder.