Spinal Muscular Atrophies - Treatment

Treatment

As with many genetic disorders, there is no known cure to any disorder of the spinal muscular atrophies group. Supportive therapies are widely employed for patients who often also require comprehensive medical care involving multiple disciplines, including pulmonology, neurology, orthopedic surgery, critical care, and clinical nutrition. Various forms of physiotherapy and occupational therapy are frequently able to slow down the pace of nerve degeneration and muscle wasting. Patients also benefit greatly from the use of assistive technology.

For more detailed therapeutic pathways, see articles on individual diseases.

Read more about this topic:  Spinal Muscular Atrophies

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    Our treatment of both older people and children reflects the value we place on independence and autonomy. We do our best to make our children independent from birth. We leave them all alone in rooms with the lights out and tell them, “Go to sleep by yourselves.” And the old people we respect most are the ones who will fight for their independence, who would sooner starve to death than ask for help.
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