WASHINGTON - A widely used blood-pressure drug reduced muscle damage in mice with the most common form of muscular dystrophy, researchers report.

A team at Johns Hopkins University found the drug losartan seemed to improve muscle regeneration in mice with a rare condition known as Marfan syndrome and in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy - the most common form in children.

"The results are very intriguing and certainly worthy of further investigation," said Dr. Valerie Cwik, medical director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

While noting that it is only a single study, Cwik said the drug is currently used in children and has a good safety profile.

The only current treatment for Duchenne has side effects, so it is worth investigating whether this can offer an alternative, said Cwik, who was not part of the research team.

In Marfan mice treated with the drug, the aorta was strengthened, reducing the chance of an aneurysm in which this major blood vessel bursts.

"In addition to the aortic defect, children with severe Marfan syndrome often have very small, weak muscles, and adults with Marfan often can't gain muscle mass despite adequate nutrition and exercise," Dr. Harry C. Dietz of Johns Hopkins, the lead researcher, said in a statement.

In Marfan mice, treatment with losartan "completely restored muscle architecture" and vastly improved strength, according to Dietz. He is planning a test in people with Marfan syndrome.

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