Health
Causes and Symptoms of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a genetically inherited condition that weakens the voluntary muscles of infants and children and damages the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This condition can result in having trouble performing day-to-day activities like walking, sitting upright, controlling the head, and even breathing. This condition is passed on genetically, and there are no cures available for this disorder. Read on to know about the symptoms and causes of spinal muscle atrophy. Cause This condition results in changes in the composition of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) and survival motor neuron 2 (SMN2). These genes are responsible for the production of proteins necessary for the proper functioning of motor neurons. These neurons transport the signal of action from the brain to the rest of the body. Aberrations in SMN 1 cause spinal muscular atrophy, while aberrations in SMN2 are responsible for controlling the severity of the condition. Spinal muscular atrophy is a condition that is usually observed in babies and children. It is caused due to inheritance of a broken or mutated gene, found in chromosome 5, from both parents. Furthermore, there are different forms of SMAs that are not connected to aberrations in chromosome 5 and the deficiency of survival motor neurons.
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