Mutation of the Survival Motor Neuron 1 (SMN1) gene causes spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder that occurs in early childhood. Degeneration of spinal motor neurons caused by SMN deficiency results in progressive muscle atrophy and death in SMA. The molecular mechanism underlying neurodegeneration in SMA is unknown. No treatment is available to preven...

Defective RNA metabolism is an emerging mechanism involved in ALS pathogenesis and possibly in other neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we show that microRNA (miRNA) activity is essential for long-term survival of postmitotic spinal motor neurons (SMNs) in vivo. Thus, mice that do not process miRNA in SMNs exhibit hallmarks of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), including sclerosis of the spinal cor...

In Malaysia, Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is diagnosed based on clinical observation with or without muscle biopsy. Molecular analyses of the SMA-related genes have not been available so far. In this preliminary study, we searched for homozygous deletion of Survival Motor Neuron (SMN1) and Neuronal Apoptosis Inhibitory Protein (NAIP) genes in Malay patients with SMA and found homozygous deleti...

The survival motor neuron (SMN) gene was lacking in 6/12 patients with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) associated with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Neither point mutation in the SMN gene nor evidence for linkage to chromosome 5q13 were found in the other patients. Hitherto, arthrogryposis was regarded as an exclusion criterion in SMA. Our data strongly suggest that AMC of neurogenic ...

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), an autosomal recessive disease, is characterized by the selective loss of spinal motor neurons due to reduced levels of the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. The clinical symptoms of SMA are progressive proximal muscle weakness and paralysis. Here we describe a 20-year-old Turkmenistan male with SMA who presented with uncommon pathological reflexes and asymmetr...

To define alterations of neuronal connectivity that occur during motor neuron degeneration, we characterized the function and structure of spinal circuitry in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) model mice. SMA motor neurons show reduced proprioceptive reflexes that correlate with decreased number and function of synapses on motor neuron somata and proximal dendrites. These abnormalities occur at an ...

The monogenetic disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is characterized by a progressive loss of motoneurons leading to muscle weakness and atrophy due to severe reduction of the Survival of Motoneuron (SMN) protein. Several models of SMA show deficits in neurite outgrowth and maintenance of neuromuscular junction (NMJ) structure. Survival of motoneurons, axonal outgrowth and formation of NMJ is...

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by low levels of full-length survival motor neuron (SMN) protein due to the loss 1 (SMN1) gene and inefficient splicing 2 (SMN2) gene, which mostly affects alpha neurons lower spinal cord. Despite U.S. Food Drug Administration (FDA) approved SMN-dependent therapies including Nusinersen, Zolgensma® Evrysdi™, SMA still devastatin...

The problem of having offspring with inherited diseases can be resolved in some cases through preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is one of these diseases. In my short term visit to Guy's Hospital in London, I set up a panel of markers which can be used for preimplantion genetic haplotyping in affected families with this pathology.