Using Dry Needling To Relieve Muscle Spasms For SMA Patients

Dry needling has been a popular treatment in the world of physical therapy for the past few years and is continuing to gain popularity with more research being performed. There are many different reasons to use dry needling to improve your patients' function, with the...
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Motor Function, Breathing Important in Choosing Treatment

Improvement in motor function, breathing, and ease of administration are among the factors that people with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and their caregivers value most when deciding on available treatments, a new study reports. The study, "Treatment preference among...
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Spinraza Shown to Preserve Respiratory Muscle Strength in SMA Type 2 Patients

Spinraza (nusinersen) effectively preserves respiratory muscle strength in addition to motor function in children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 2, according to a real-life, small study in France. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings, and to...
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Transitioning SMA Patients From Older Wheelchairs To Newer Wheelchairs

Transitioning from one wheelchair to another can be especially difficult for people with SMA. Most of the time, it is suggested that you receive a new wheelchair approximately every five years. As for my patient who has SMA, he has been in the same wheelchair for...
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Paramedian Injection Approach Found to Ease Spinraza Administration

Administering Spinraza (nusinersen) via a particular method of injection, called the paramedian approach, can shorten procedure times and reduce the occurrence of adverse events for people with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a small study suggests. This method may...
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Survey Finds COVID-19 Disrupted Care, Well-Being of Rare Disease Patients in Europe

The first wave of COVID-19 in Europe severely disrupted access to care and raised stress and anxiety in people with rare diseases, negatively affecting their health and well-being, according to a survey conducted by Eurordis-Rare Diseases Europe. “People living with...
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Genetic Analysis of Families Finds Novel Mutations in SMA

Genetic analysis of 28 families with a member affected by spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) identified novel mutations in the SMN1 gene and different genes widely prevalent in SMA patients not found in unaffected family members, a study reveals.  The study,...
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Physical Therapy For SMA Patients Also Serves As Emotional Therapy

Even though physical therapy focuses on the physical state of a patient, it can also act as an emotional relief for some patients. Our patient with SMA, Michael, is not able to get out of his house very much during the week, as he works from home and requires a...
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Olesoxime Failed to Benefit SMA Type 2 and 3 Patients, Final Trial Data Show

Olesoxime, a small molecule once considered a potential treatment, failed to slow motor and respiratory decline in people with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) types 2 and 3 who were unable to walk, according to final results from an extension Phase 2 clinical trial....
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Gene Therapy Given Directly to Spinal Canal Might Be Safer With ‘Silencing’ Step

By taking advantage of a natural process of gene silencing, a new gene therapy approach appears to prevent the toxicity to dorsal root ganglion (DRG) — a specific cluster of sensory neurons — seen in non-human primates during gene therapy studies for neurological...
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Nerve-muscle Communication Molecule May Be SBMA Therapeutic Target, Study Says

Increasing the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) — a molecule involved in the communication between nerve cells and muscle — specifically in muscle delayed symptom onset and slowed disease progression in a mouse model of spinal and bulbar muscular...

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Latest Articles from SMA HCP

Muscles Controlling Eye Movements Not Affected by SMA, Study Finds

Muscles Controlling Eye Movements Not Affected by SMA, Study Finds

Mar 8, 2021

Adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) usually do not experience weakness or impairment of any sort in the muscles controlling their eye movements, a recent study reported. When such impairments are present, they should prompt physicians to re-evaluate their...

SMA Patient Columns

My Experience with the JACO Robotic Arm

Throughout my life, I have required assistance with the most basic tasks. Things like scratching my head, getting myself a drink, or picking something up off the floor are just a few items on a never-ending list of impossibilities. Fortunately, there is now technology...
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The Amino Acid Diet and Its Benefits

Nutrition has always been a challenge for my daughter, Ella. And, in turn, it is a challenge for my wife and me. Due to Ella's disease, she has an increased amount of difficulty digesting long-chain fats (meats, cheeses, etc.) and she also has a hard time maintaining...
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