Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic condition that affects a child’s range of movement due to the ongoing degeneration of muscle tone.
There are three main symptoms of the disease, the severity of which will depend upon the type of SMA the patient has: Type 1 presenting the most severe symptoms and Type 4 the least severe.
This is usually noticed in infancy when the child fails to make the usual developmental milestones, such as rolling over, sitting up, crawling and walking. The muscle tone will continue to waste away over time, with the muscles closest to the center of the body, such as the shoulders, chest and back, being affected more than those in the extremities.
In severe cases, as the muscle deteriorates the child will begin to lose the ability to walk, sit unaided, and eventually move. In types 3 and 4, problems may appear with running and walking, balance, tremors, and twitching in adulthood.
Meet two families who are coping with SMA.
For a man who has SMA and lives in a country where severely disabled people are on their own, receive updated information about my condition from developed countries research centers has kept my hopes through the years. In two weeks I will reach 68 years old and continue working to survive since there is no help from the government except the center where I work, CASP. Thanks for sharing the latest information about SMA
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