Priyamvada Singh1, Wendy K M Liew, Basil T Darras. 1. aDepartment of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston bSaint Vincent Hospital, Worcester, USA *Priyamvada Singh and Wendy K.M. Liew contributed equally to the writing of this article.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a pediatric neuromuscular condition characterized by progressive proximal muscle weakness. It is one of the most common genetic causes of infant mortality across different races and is caused by mutation of the survival of motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene on chromosome 5q13. RECENT FINDINGS: To date, there have been many therapeutics developments for SMA targeting various potential pathways such as increasing SMN gene expression, enhancing SMN2 exon 7 inclusion, neuroprotection, cell replacement, and gene therapy. SUMMARY: Although SMA remains an incurable disease to date, recent advances in the field of basic and translational research have enhanced our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and opened new possibilities for therapeutic intervention. This article reviews and highlights past and current translational research on SMA therapeutics.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a pediatric neuromuscular condition characterized by progressive proximal muscle weakness. It is one of the most common genetic causes of infantmortality across different races and is caused by mutation of the survival of motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene on chromosome 5q13. RECENT FINDINGS: To date, there have been many therapeutics developments for SMA targeting various potential pathways such as increasing SMN gene expression, enhancing SMN2 exon 7 inclusion, neuroprotection, cell replacement, and gene therapy. SUMMARY: Although SMA remains an incurable disease to date, recent advances in the field of basic and translational research have enhanced our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and opened new possibilities for therapeutic intervention. This article reviews and highlights past and current translational research on SMA therapeutics.