Physical Therapists News

Young children given a single injection of Zolgensma into the spinal canal continue to show gains in motor function and safety, new interim data from the STRONG trial in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 2 patients up to age 5 show. These findings from the open-label Phase 1/2 clinical…

 While the entire world has been brought to a standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people reacting – rationally and irrationally – to the threat of the virus are healthy, young, and seemingly at low-risk for long-term or dire health consequences. Those with SMA, on the other hand,…

In physical therapy, one main focus for us is to ensure patients improve on their balance, especially if the reason for their visit is secondary to an injury from a fall. With patients that spend the majority of their time in a wheelchair, we still want to focus a lot…

This month has seen a surge of publications focused on SMA treatments, with a trend towards optimizing various aspects of nusinersen treatment. Research has also continued in areas related to molecular mechanisms of the disease, clinical manifestations, and management protocols.  Here’s a roundup of the latest in SMA research…

February wrapped up with a surge of data on SMA, including novel investigations into how combinatorial therapies may provide new advantages to those with the disease. More information on how nusinersen impacts patients has also become available, as have new findings related to newborn screening and the genetics underlying SMA.

Every patient with SMA has different abilities and deficits as well as different ways of transportation. Most are unable to walk independently, therefore require assistance of some sort. Michael, our patient with SMA, has a power chair that he uses to navigate around. He has his controls on the right…

Research on SMA continues to forge ahead in 2020, with new results in from Roche’s latest investigation into its oral SMA drug, risdiplam. New tools for screening are being revealed as legislative changes are pushing more and more toward requiring infants born in the U.S. to be screened for SMA.

Patients with SMA often spend the majority of their time either in their wheelchair or in their bed. Since they can be fairly limited to these two places, it is important to increase their independence within those areas. Although my patient with SMA, Michael, will most likely not be able…

Understanding SMA Stasimon contributes to the loss of sensory synapses and motor neuron death in a mouse model of spinal muscular atrophy.1 In this paper, the authors elucidate a mechanism of the motor neuron degeneration that occurs in SMA. Specifically, the authors found that dysfunction of Stasimon, a protein of…

2019 was a year of significant progress in our understanding of SMA and how to best address it – clinically and otherwise. Below is a roundup of some of the final SMA data shared in late 2019. Understanding SMA The classical complement pathway mediates microglia-dependent remodeling of spinal motor circuits…