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Tracey Dawson, PhD, SVP, U.S. Therapeutic Area Head of Neuroscience at Novartis, discusses the SMAshing My Limits campaign.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a group of genetic neuromuscular disorders that affect the motor neurons. The loss of motor neurons causes progressive muscle weakness and loss of movement due to muscle wasting. Many types of SMA mainly affect the muscles involved in walking, sitting, arm movement, and head control. Breathing and swallowing may also become difficult as the disease progresses in many types of SMA. SMA type 1, 2, 3, and 4 are caused by genetic changes in the SMN1 gene. Extra copies of the nearby related gene, SMN2, modify the severity of SMA. There are other rarer types of SMA caused by changes in different genes.

SMAshing My Limits is an SMA community-driven campaign developed to address the unique needs of teens and young adults. The campaign features stories from patients with SMA and how they “smash limits” and achieve their goals while living with a rare disease. See stories from patients like Charlie, a high school student and basketball player, here.

The campaign website features videos and stories from patients as well as resources about entering adulthood, helping others understand SMA, and how to “smash limits.” Patient support for treatment and care are also available. The campaign also recently launched an Instagram account focusing on challenging perceptions of what is possible while living with SMA.

Chapters:
Introduction 00:00
SMA Landscape Changes 00:30
SMAshing My Limits 1:45
Importance of Sharing Stories 2:59
Community Takeaways 3:53
Campaign Next Steps 4:41