Who’s On Your MDA Care Center Team?: Speech-Language Pathologists

At more than 150 MDA Care Centers nationwide, kids and adults living with neuromuscular disease (NMD) have access to multidisciplinary care teams made up of different specialists who can coordinate in one place on an appointment day to optimize a complete care plan. Included on these teams are allied health professionals and social workers who . . .

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Reporting Back on MDA’s First-Ever Virtual Hill Day

When the COVID-19 pandemic made meeting in person impossible, MDA’s Advocacy program needed to shift from in-person to virtual meetings with lawmakers. In early August, volunteers met with their lawmakers virtually — for the first time — to urge elected officials in Washington, DC, to end the process of surprise medical billing, which can be . . .

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Who’s On Your MDA Care Center Team?: Young-Adult- and Adult-Focused Social Workers

At more than 150 MDA Care Centers nationwide, kids and adults living with neuromuscular disease (NMD) have access to multidisciplinary care teams made up of different specialists who can coordinate in one place on an appointment day to optimize a complete care plan. Included on these teams are allied health professionals and social workers who . . .

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Who’s On Your MDA Care Center Team?: Pediatric Social Workers

At more than 150 MDA Care Centers nationwide, kids and adults living with neuromuscular disease (NMD) have access to multidisciplinary care teams made up of different specialists who can coordinate in one place on an appointment day to optimize a complete care plan. Included on these teams are allied health professionals and social workers who . . .

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FDA Approves NS Pharma’s Viltepso for Treatment of DMD Amenable to Exon 53 Skipping

Today, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to viltolarsen (Viltepso) for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in patients amenable to skipping exon 53. It is the third exon-skipping, disease-modifying drug to treat DMD, the most common childhood form of muscular dystrophy. The drug is administered by intravenous infusion. Viltepso will . . .

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FDA Approves Genentech’s Evrysdi for Treatment of SMA in Pediatric and Adult Patients

On Aug. 7, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval of risdiplam (Evrysdi) for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients. It is the third disease-modifying therapy approved to treat SMA, the leading genetic cause of infant death. The drug is an orally administered liquid, the first medicine that could . . .

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How MDA is Supporting LGMD Research and Care in 2020

On July 18, MDA is hosting a free virtual Engage Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Symposium, a half-day educational event featuring key experts who will speak on topics including the latest in genetics and research in limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD). MDA has a longstanding commitment to finding treatments for the more than 30 subtypes of LGMD; since . . .

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Hacking COVID: MDA Staff Edition

In April, MDA fielded a survey to ask its community how COVID-19 was impacting their lives. We heard your responses — anxiety, questions, hope — and wanted to know more. In this six-part blog series, Hacking COVID, people from MDA’s community, all living with neuromuscular diseases, shared how they’ve altered their day-to-day lives, how they’ve . . .

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Hacking COVID: MDA Ambassador Edition, Part 2

In April, MDA fielded a survey to ask its community how COVID-19 was impacting their lives. We heard your responses — anxiety, questions, hope — and wanted to know more. In this six-part blog series, Hacking COVID, people from MDA’s community, all living with neuromuscular diseases, shared how they’ve altered their day-to-day lives, how they’ve . . .

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Five Questions With CMT Researcher Stephan Züchner

Stephan Züchner, MD, PhD, professor for Human Genetics and Neurology, Chair of the Human Genetics Department, and codirector of the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, recently discovered mutations in the sorbitol dehydrogenase gene (SORD) that cause a recessive, axonal form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) . . .

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