Alice Melão,  —

Positive interim data from an ongoing Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers supports the continued development of Scholar Rock’s investigational candidate SRK-015 as a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The company is now planning to launch a Phase 2 trial to assess the safety and efficacy…

ArcherDX is expanding its product portfolio with newborn and screening tests to identify carriers of genetic variants linked to different disorders, including cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy, and fragile X syndrome. The company has acquired the genetics-based personalized medicine laboratory Baby Genes, which will operate under…

Administration of Spinraza (nusinersen) directly into the spinal canal is feasible and well-tolerated by adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 2 or 3. Still, such treatment can be challenging for SMA type 2 patients and those who have had spinal fusion, a study shows. The study,…

Novartis Pharmaceuticals‘ investigational compound BVS857 significantly improved muscle volume in patients with X-linked type spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) over a short period of time, Phase 2 clinical results show. However, the compound failed to improve muscle strength and function. These findings were reported in the study, “…

A population-based study conducted in the state of New York demonstrates the feasibility and benefits of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Supported by these findings, researchers recommend adding SMA genetic tests to the national recommended uniform screening panel. The study, “Pilot study of population-based newborn…

Targeted therapies or dietary supplements that work to improve the metabolism of certain molecules in muscle cells may slow the progression of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), results of an early study in mice show. The study, “Interventions Targeting Glucocorticoid-Krüppel-like Factor 15-Branched-Chain Amino Acid Signaling Improve Disease Phenotypes…

A working group led by Cure SMA, and comprising 15 experts on spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), has developed new guidelines to help clinicians and caregivers decide when to administer therapy to infants with the disease. These come as a response to the recent recommendation by the Advisory Committee on…

Olesoxime (TRO19622) stabilizes the movement function of patients with Type 2 or Type 3 spinal muscular atrophy over the long term, an extension of a Phase 2 clinical trial shows. Roche will present the results at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Academy of…

Levels of a male hormone produced by the adrenal glands could provide useful information on the severity of spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy, or SBMA, a study reports. The identified the hormone as DHEA sulfate. Researchers’ study, published in the Journal of Neurology, is titled “The metabolic…

Using an advanced imaging technique and complex computational algorithms, researchers have created the first detailed, 3D imaging of a group of proteins called dyneins that may lead to a better understanding of the underlying causes of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Dyneins play a…