ROME, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- An Italian research group on Wednesday obtained European funding for a new gene therapy aimed at preventing the most common form of muscular dystrophy.

    The Italian gene therapy was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). The researchers team from Rome's La Sapienza State University, led by biologist Irene Bozzoni, has patented a so-called "shuttle virus" aimed at replacing the damaged gene that causes Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), one of the most common and lethal forms of infantile dystrophy.

    "This is an important step forward because it paves the way for the therapy to be tested and gives access to economic aid," the university said in a statement.

    DMD affects one in 3,500 male babies, causing progressive muscle damage, disability and death.

    Sufferers have a life expectancy ranging from their late teens to early 30s although there have been rare cases surviving into their 50s.