Experimental protocols for DMD animal models

The availability of standardized operating procedures (SOPs) to unify experimental protocols used to test the effects of new treatments in animal models is a step that will undoubtedly improve the comparability of studies from different laboratories. SOPs are not meant to be mandatory but are designed to be a point of reference and should not prevent innovation and further improvement of the existing protocols. To ensure reproducibility and quality, each SOP has been drawn up by a group of independent researchers (listed in each protocol) and is updated on a regular basis.

Two meetings were hosted with specialists from all over the world to discuss and create this collection of SOPs, in full collaboration with the Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC and with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH)-Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Network, and with the generous support of the Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne Inc, the US National Institutes of Health and TREAT-NMD. These workshops were described in a meeting report published in Neuromuscular Disorders and available here.

The SOPs that have already been completed can be downloaded from this site and others will be added in the future. The last date each SOP was reviewed can be found under the code on the left of the page.

Disclaimer: TREAT-NMD and the authors of the SOPs disclaim, without limitation, all liability for any loss or damage of any kind, including any direct, indirect or consequential damages, which might be incurred in connection with the information and procedures contained in these SOPs.