What is SMA?
What is SMA? Spinal Muscular Atrophy is more commonly known by the letter SMA. It is also sometimes referred to as autosomal recessive proximal spinal muscular atrophy but however you say it, it all means the same thing--that it is a rare neuromuscular disorder that affects many thousands of people throughout the world. When life begins in the womb, all of us are given two sets of chromosomes. One from our mother, and one from our father. This is our genetic code and if all goes well, we are born healthy. However, a lot can happen during gestation that affects pairs of chromosomes. Most of us are aware that having an extra copy of chromosome 21 for example leads to Down Syndrome. A mother and a dad can both be transporters for spinal strong decay and they wouldn't be impacted, yet in the event that both pass it by means of their chromosomes to their offspring, the baby has the disease. It is something that can occur along all races and in all the countries of the worl...