Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month takes steps to find a cure a genetic disease affecting 1 in 11,000 births.

SMA (spinal muscular atrophy) damages motor nerve cells in the spinal cord. Those who suffer from SMA lose the ability to walk, eat and breathe without medical intervention.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month strives to raise awareness of the condition caused by the deficiency of a motor neuron protein called SMN and other rare forms of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) that stem from chromosome mutations. Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month seeks to educate the public and generate support for those with SMA. Through research, a cure can be found.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a motor neuron disease characterized by the “wasting away” of nerve cells, called motor neurons, in the spinal cord. Spinal muscular atrophy is the leading genetic cause of death in babies under the age of two. It affects families of all ethnic backgrounds, often with no prior history of the disease. In the U.S. one person in every six- to ten-thousand develops the disease, and one in fifty is a carrier. All levels of SMA require varying degrees of treatment, involving some combination of medication, technology, and therapy. The good news is that many children and adults with SMA lead full, productive lives, with the proper treatment and physical therapy.

https://www.curesma.org/