Marisa Wexler, MS,  senior science writer—

Palliative care for babies with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 has improved in recent decades, with greater involvement of dedicated pediatric medical teams, a new French study suggests. As more treatments become available, ethical questions about the appropriate level of care will need to be addressed, researchers…

Preforming an imaging scan that uses less radiation can be used to plan the administration of Spinraza (nusinersen) in people with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), without sacrificing confidence in treatment planning, a study shows. The study, “Radiation dose reduction for CT-guided intrathecal nusinersen administration in adult…

Results from a clinical trial of risdiplam in a broad range of people with spinal muscular atrophy were a highlight of SMA Europe’s 2020 conference, a board member of that SMA umbrella patient advocacy group said…

The biopharmaceutical company Cytokinetics and the nonprofit organization Cure SMA have announced a renewal of their partnership. The partnership aims to increase education and awareness for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), as well as to promote public policy and fundraising efforts that support people who are living with…

Tina and Torence Anderson’s sixth and youngest child, Malachi, came into the world on July 31, 2015. “When he was born, he was normal,” Tina said in a phone interview with SMA News Today. But eight weeks later,…

A child who barely moved in the womb in the final months before his birth and then had multiple bone fractures at birth was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 0, researchers reported. The case study, “Type (0) spinal muscular atrophy associated with fractures at birth,” was…

Destiny McCalvin gave birth to her second child, a girl she named Kenzlee, after what she and her doctors took to be an uneventful pregnancy in 2011. “She seemed like a normal baby; she weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces, no issues,” her mother said. But “issues” soon became clear: “It…

Treating adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) with Spinraza (nusinersen) was safe and improved their muscle strength, and motor and respiratory function, among other benefits, according to preliminary research. While treatment with Biogen‘s Spinraza has been demonstrated to be beneficial in children and infants with SMA,…

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) treatment with Biogen’s Spinraza (nusinersen) has resulted in motor milestone achievements in line with normal motor development and continues to provide benefit to infants who began receiving the treatment in a presymptomatic stage of the disease, according to interim clinical trial results. The study, “…

Learning that spinal muscle atrophy was the reason her 15-month-old son couldn’t do what others his age could was a “gut-wrenching” moment, Kristen Farrell recalled in a recent webcast hosted by Biogen. But, as Braeden turned 2, a clinical trial opened for a potential SMA treatment — known then only…