A recently discovered mouse model (‘mdx’) for muscular dystrophy in man may be of considerable interest, since the disease in ‘mdx’ mice is inherited by the same mode of inheritance (X-linked) as the human Duchenne (DMD) muscular dystrophy. Unlike DMD, which results in a situation in which the continual muscle destruction cannot keep up with abortive regenerative attempts of the musculature, and the sufferers of the disease die early, the disease in ‘mdx’ mice appears to be transient, and the mice do not die as a result of it. In fact, it has been reported that the severely damaged Tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of ‘mdx’ mice seem to display exceptionally good regenerative powers at 4-6 weeks, so much so, that these muscles are able to regenerate spontaneously up to their previous levels of physiological activity.
A mouse model of disuse osteoporosis based on a movable noninvasive 3D-printed unloading device