SMA is estimated to occur in nearly 1 out of every 6,000 births.
1 in every 40 people, or nearly 10 million Americans, UNKNOWINGLY
carries the gene responsible for SMA. Few have any known family
history.
SMA is a pan-ethnic disease and does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, or gender.
There is currently no treatment and no cure, but the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) selected SMA as the disease closest to
treatment of more than 600 neurological disorders.
The American College of Medical Genetics recommends that SMA
carrier testing be made available to ALL couples planning a family,
regardless of ethnicity or family history.
