News

Cure SMA Offers US Patients Free Tools to Boost Their Independence

Cure SMA is offering free “independence assistance packages” to teenagers and adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in the U.S. to assist with everyday living or to help make living on their own possible. The Teen & Adult Independence Assistance Package is meant to supplement the nonprofit organization’s…

Neurofilaments May Not Be Biomarker for Older Patients

The blood levels of neurofilaments — a marker of nerve cell damage — may serve as a disease onset and treatment response biomarker in infants with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1, but not in older patients with milder disease forms, a study suggests. These findings add to previous studies…

UK NICE Expands Access to Spinraza for SMA Type 3

A decision from England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will make Spinraza (nusinersen) available to people with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 3 who are unable to walk. In England, Spinraza is available through a managed access agreement (MAA) between NICE, the National Health…

German Study Urges Newborn SMA Screening, Citing Better Outcomes

Newborn screening can aid in the early diagnosis and prompt treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which can lead to better clinical outcomes, according to a German study. “We strongly recommend that newborn screening for SMA ought to become universal in countries that provide SMA-specific medication,” the study’s researchers…

Grant Awarded to Find Affordable Treatments for Children

A researcher from Keele University School of Medicine in the U.K. was awarded a £99,959 ($138,633) research grant to identify and evaluate potential — and more affordable — treatments to improve the health of children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The two-year research grant of the Academy of Medical…