The characters shown are real patients and the required consent to use their stories has been obtained from the patients and families. Photographs are for illustrative purposes only.
SMA is a debilitating neuromuscular disease characterised by motor neuron degeneration and loss of muscle strength.2 As the disease progresses, patients face the gradual erosion of pulmonary and motor functions to the point where even simple tasks become impossible.1,3-5
The characters shown are real patients and the required consent to use their stories has been obtained from the patients and families. Photographs are for illustrative purposes only.
1. Kaufmann P, McDermott MP, Darras BT, et al. Prospective cohort study of spinal muscular atrophy types 2 and 3. Neurology 2012;79(18):1889-1897.
2. Lunn MR, Wang CH. Spinal muscular atrophy. Lancet 2008;371:2120-2133.
3. Wadman RI, Wijngaarde CA, Stam M, et al. Muscle strength and motor function throughout life in a cross-sectional cohort of 180 patients with SMA types 1c-4. Eur J Neurol 2018;25(3):512-518.
4. Paradis AD, Wassel CL, Dreyfus J, et al. Symptoms and Complications Among Later Childhood, Adolescent, and Adult Spinal Muscular Atrophy Patients: A Natural History Study Within US Hospitals. Poster P206 presented at MDA 2019; Orlando, Florida, USA.
5. Rouault F, Christie-Brown V, Broekgaarden R, et al. Disease impact on general well-being and therapeutic expectations of European Type II and Type III spinal muscular atrophy patients. Neuromuscul Disord 2017;27(5):428-438.