Spinal muscular atrophy
RSS feedVariable severity of SMA in patients with four copies of the SMN2 gene
A study published using data from the SMA France register, set up in 2020, shows a wide variety of phenotypes in patients with SMN1-related proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) with homozygous deletion of the SMN1 gene and four copies of the SMN2 gene, sometimes more severe than expected. As of May 2023, 1,112 patients were … [Read more]
A natural history study of upper limb function in SMA type II
The Spanish network responsible for monitoring patients with SMN1-related proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) retrospectively studied the evolution of upper limb function in SMA type II : 149 patients with type II SMA took part in the study, which consisted of measuring the Revised Upper Limb Module (RULM) functional score at regular intervals. The participants … [Read more]
Repeated intrathecal injections of nusinersen and pain syndrome: can we anticipate its onset?
South Korean researchers sought to identify predictive factors for the occurrence of a pain syndrome after long-term transforaminal injection of nusinernen in patients with SMA: 34 non-marching SMA patients participated in the study, data from the corresponding 290 intrathecal injections were analysed in a multivariate analysis, nearly half of them had experienced a pain syndrome at … [Read more]
An English study on mortality in SMA in the era of innovative therapies
The UK consortium dedicated to the care of young patients with SMA has carried out a retrospective mortality study using data from the national SMA REACH UK register: over a 5-year period (2019-2023), 25 deaths were recorded among the 533 children listed in the said register, one of them had a very severe form (SMA … [Read more]
A comparative study of costs between nusinersen and onasemnogene abeparvovec
In association with the Novartis laboratory, which markets the onasemnogene abepavovec or OA (a gene therapy product prescribed for infantile spinal muscular atrophy linked to SMN1 or SMA), Dutch researchers have carried out a comparative study of the costs generated by innovative therapies (nusinersen versus OA): the population studied was infants born in the Netherlands … [Read more]
Spinal cord epidural stimulation proves effective in type III SMA
An initial study evaluated epidural stimulation of the spinal cord in three patients with type III spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). While motor deficits may persist with Spinraza®, Zolgensma® and Evrysdi®, this technique could directly target the dysfunction of the neuronal circuitry of the spinal cord involved in the progression of the disease. The three participants … [Read more]
Impaired spermatogenesis in SMA
For the first time, clinicians from the Neuromuscular Diseases Reference Centres looked at the spermatogenesis of 68 men with proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) before starting treatment with risdiplam, a drug likely to cause fertility problems. Of the participants, 36 had type II SMA and 32 had type III SMA, who were followed up between … [Read more]
An alternative method for injecting nusinersen intrathecally
Spanish clinicians report their experience with an unconventional injection route in the treatment of SMN1-related proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) with nusinersen : six patients with SMA, including five with type II and one with type III, benefited from this treatment due to the impossibility of using the lumbar route, Five were over 18 years … [Read more]
The first prenatal treatment of SMA with risdiplam in the United States
Richard Finkel’s team (Memphis) has published the first case report of in utero treatment with risdiplam (Evrysdi®) for SMN1-related proximal spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA : an amniocentesis, carried out because of a history of the disease in the siblings, revealed in one foetus an absence of SMN1 with 2 copies of SMN2, i.e. type … [Read more]
SMA therapies do not prevent the development of scoliosis
A German team conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of 75 patients to assess the course of neuromuscular scoliosis associated with SMA. a total of 75 patients were included in the analysis; 36.5% had type I SMA, 40.5% had type II SMA and 23% had type III SMA. all were treated with Spinraza®, Zolgensma® and Evrysdi® … [Read more]