Community Perspectives

I knew things would change when my mom retired. For one thing, there was going to be a whole third person hanging around our house; for most of my life, it was just my dad and…

A program that aims to simultaneously strengthen muscles needed for breathing and postural muscles in the trunk may benefit people with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) more than a program that focuses only on breathing muscles, a…

A small molecule known as 10H-phenothiazine (PTZ) reduced the loss of motor neurons, the nerve cells lost in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), in animal models of the disease. The treatment also rescued SMA-related changes in the…

I had no idea that I didn’t have a “normal” amount of makeup. Despite owning two full bags of products, excluding my brushes, it never occurred to me that I possessed more than the average person.

Changes in the motor unit, which is made up of a nerve cell and the muscle fibers it controls, may help doctors better understand how severe spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is in each person, according to…

Alice Wong, a disability rights activist with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), devoted herself to fighting for the rights of people with disabilities and other underrepresented communities. When she died at age 51 in November, she left…

“How did your parents do it?” People have asked me this many times over the years. It usually comes up when they learn of some aspect of my independence, an accomplishment, or something else that impresses them…

Evrysdi (risdiplam) can stabilize motor function, improve swallowing ability, ease fatigue, and improve life quality in adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), according to a review of scientific literature. Although the researchers stressed that more studies are…

Children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who are nonambulatory, or unable to walk, have weaker upper leg bones — as assessed by tests of bone mineral density, or BMD — compared with nonambulatory…

There’s a character in the musical “Wicked” that I strongly relate to. She has the cutest slippers in the film, and her first day at Shiz University barely hints at the whirlwind of tragedies that await her. Throughout the…