Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the leading genetic cause of death in babies under the age of 2. SMA can affect all families no matter their ethniticity. Families do not have to have prior history of the disease. Newborns born with SMA at first appear healthy. With time these babies appear to have lack of muscular development and that it is debilitating. Muscle weakness often leads to respiratory failure and failure to thrive.
Fast Facts about SMA
SMA is the number one genetic killer of children under two.
One in 40 people carry the gene that causes SMA.
One in 6,000 babies are born with SMA.
There is usually no previous family history.
SMA affects people of all races and genders.
The National Institute of Health selected SMA as the disease closest to a treatment of nearly 600 neurological disorders.
Researchers believe that a treatment will be found within the next 5 years with the proper resources.
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merry monday
Great to hear a treatment might be coming soon.
ReplyDeleteWow, that sounds pretty serious...I don't know anybody in my family that had a child with this condition so it is new info for me. I;m glad to hear we're not too far away from finding a treatment though!
ReplyDeleteWow those statistics are pretty high. It's great to hear though that researchers are optimistic about a treatment.
ReplyDeleteOh wow I had no idea how common it was! How terrible. I am so glad that there is a time to make people more aware.
ReplyDeleteThis condition seems like such a nightmare. I do hope researchers are able to find a good treatment for SMA.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I know very little about spinal muscular atrophy. I am glad to hear that researchers believe that a treatment will be found within the next five years with the proper resources.
ReplyDeleteThese stats are higher than I thought they would be. I hope that the resources get better with time
ReplyDeleteOh my. I had no idea that this disease has a high incidence of occurence. 1 in 40 carry the gene! I hope there would be a cure or at least pre-conception screening for parents to set expectations.
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