Types of the SMA Disease
SMA or spinal muscular atrophy is a group of genetic disease that causes weakness and wasting of voluntary muscles. A person suffering from SMA cannot control the movement of their muscles. One of the major reasons a person suffers from this disease is the loss of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brainstem. Surveys suggest that one in every 5,000 to 10,000 infants around the world is born with this disease.
In more than 90 percent of cases, SMA is caused due to inadequate production of Survival Motor Neuron (SMN), which is a protein essential for specialized nerve cells called motor neurons.
SMA1
The severe form of SMA, it is also called the Werdnig-Hoffman disease. SMA1 is the most common type of SMA and is usually evident at birth or within the first few months of birth.
SMA2
The symptoms of this type of SMA appear between the ages of 7 to 18 months, and the rate of progression varies. The disease affects a child’s legs, as a result of which children suffering from SMA2 can never stand and suffer from respiratory infections. The life expectancy of children suffering from SMA2 can be up to adulthood, depending on the severity of the condition.
SMA3
Also known as the Kugelberg-Welander disease or juvenile SMA, it is the mildest version and can affect a child from 18 months to adulthood. Children suffering from this version can stand and walk, but they may have trouble getting up from a sitting position and experience muscle weakness.