Gene therapy that increased the production of a protein called DOK7 in a spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) mouse model was found to improve the neuromuscular junction structure, reduce muscle fiber loss, improve grip strength, and extend survival. These study findings suggest that DOK7…
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Adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 3 have significantly lower levels of several molecules that help regulate actin, one of the major components of the cell’s cytoskeleton, according to a study. These findings, from blood and connective tissue cells, add to information from a previous study showing…
Same But Different, a nonprofit U.K. group that uses art for social change, is inviting people to choose their favorite photographs in a calendar contest to heighten awareness of rare diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The organization’s panel of judges has pared the number of contest submissions to…
The EONIS system, a screening assay capable of simultaneously testing newborns for three genetic conditions, including spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), has received a CE marking from the European Commission for an in vitro device. The approval will allow its developer, PerkinElmer, to make the EONIS…
Treatment with the molecule 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) failed to improve the motor function, endurance, and muscle strength of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 3 patients who are able to walk, according to results from a small Phase 2/3 clinical trial. Findings from the trial…
Infants with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 who received a single infusion of Zolgensma continue to achieve developmental milestones and show improvements in motor function, according to interim data from the Phase 3 STR1VE-EU trial. Importantly, these improvements were also seen in infants with more severe forms of…
Infants with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 receiving the therapeutic dose of Evrysdi (risdiplam) continue to improve and achieve motor milestones, according to two-year data from the first part of the Phase 2/3 FIREFISH clinical trial. Updated data from FIREFISH (NCT02913482) showed that nearly all…
It took one year for Dona Krystosek to get a diagnosis for her son, Levi, after he was born. The family received three misdiagnoses of fatal diseases until they found out Levi has Jansen’s metaphyseal chondrodysplasia — an extremely rare form of dwarfism. “The hardest thing…
Novartis will open a new clinical trial investigating Zolgensma, given via an injection directly into the spinal canal, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a “pivotal confirmatory study” into the gene therapy’s use in older spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients. Findings from this future…
About one year of treatment with Spinraza (nusinersen) gradually and significantly improves motor function in adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 3 — especially those unable to walk without assistance, according to a large and real-life study in Italy. Adults with type 2 disease, in turn,…
