GenQA is asking people with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and their families in the U.K. to donate a small blood sample that will help the company determine if newborn screening tests are accurate and reliable. The U.K.-based company, operated by the Oxford University NHS Foundation Trust, provides external…
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A pilot study describes how researchers successfully implemented a newborn genetic screening in Osaka, Japan, to identify infants with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) as early as possible. No false-positive results occurred in about 23,000 samples screened in the study; after implementation, newborn screening detected one presymptomatic SMA infant who…
Centogene has launched a new genetic sequencing assay to support faster and more accurate diagnoses of rare diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Called NEW CentoGenome, the assay combines advanced genetic sequencing with clinical information housed in the company’s rare disease Biodatabank. “As a pioneer of…
Unusual mutations in the SMN1 gene, the underlying cause of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), were detected in two young patients using ultra-long read sequencing (ultra-LRS), a method to analyze large segments of DNA. “Our study highlights the importance of ultra-LRS in the clinical application of SMA,” the researchers noted…
Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio has been awarded $1.3 million to optimize palliative care practices for children living with chronic diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The funding comes from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Palliative care…
Children and adolescents in New Zealand with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) will be able to access Evrysdi (risdiplan) through the country’s publicly funded healthcare system, starting in May. The decision by New Zealand’s Pharmaceutical Management Agency, known as Pharmac, means eligible patients will now have access to two…
CANbridge Pharmaceuticals is planning to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to launch, by the end of 2024, clinical trials of its second-generation gene therapy candidate for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). That request — for clearance for first-in-human studies — will come in the form…
A young boy and three of his relatives were found to carry a new mutation that was the likely cause of their spinal muscular atrophy with lower extremity predominance, known as SMA-LED, according to a report from China. Researchers mapped the mutation to the DYNC1H1 gene, which has been…
A single gene-editing treatment that converts the SMN2 gene into a functioning copy of SMN1 increased levels of the SMN protein that is lacking in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), bringing better motor function to a mouse model of the disease, a study reported. Combined with Spinraza (nusinersen), an…
The one-time gene therapy Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi) can improve motor outcomes for children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) effectively, especially when it’s given in the first months of life, a review paper shows. “There is substantial evidence of improved outcomes when Zolgensma is administered early to children under…
