Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and advanced heart disease enrolled in an exploratory study of Capricor Therapeutics Inc.'s candidate, CAP-1002, saw, at the study's six-month midpoint, improved measures of cardiac structure and upper limb function. The interim data suggest that the therapy, composed of allogeneic cardiosphere-derived cells, could help stave off decompensated heart failure, a common cause of death for individuals with DMD.