Professor Giovanni Meola, Specialty Chief Editor of Neuromuscular Diseases in Frontiers in Neurology received the honor of being designated Distinguished International Professor as a result of his major clinical, teaching and scholarly contributions to the field of neurology.

Professor Giovanni Meola (left)

Professor Meola received his award during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. He has contributed to shedding light on the genetics of myotonic dystrophies. He also emphasized the concept that myotonic dystrophy Type 1 can also be considered a brain disorder.

New opportunities for research in myotonic dystrophies

As Professor Meola received this award from the Department of Neurology of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, he pointed to new potential to discover more in neuromuscular diseases:

“At the moment, it’s a very exciting time for the neuromuscular field,” he says.

“There’s enormous potential to discover several pathomolecular mechanisms in Duchenne neuromuscular dystrophy (DMD), mytonic dystrophies and some motor neuron diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).”

New therapeutic approaches for neuromuscular diseases

Professor Meola says there are also some very promising therapies such as Antisense Oligonucleotides (ASO) for treating SMA and DMD. “There’s also enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for Pompe’s disease which has changed the course and prognosis of the disease. I also predict an expanding number of gene therapies for many neuromuscular diseases in the near future,” he says.