Understanding the Differences Between SMA and Muscular Dystrophy
SMA is a motor neuron disease that affects the nerve cells in the spinal cord responsible for sending signals to the muscles. SMA affects motor nerve cells in the spinal cord and impacts muscles used for breathing, eating, crawling, and walking. Muscular dystrophy, on the other hand, refers to a group of genetic diseases where the muscles themselves become weak and damaged over time. The CDC describes muscular dystrophies as genetic diseases in which muscles become weak, with each type affecting different muscle groups, appearing at different ages, and varying in severity.
SMA is most commonly caused by a mutation in the SMN1 gene, which leads to low levels of survival motor neuron protein and progressive muscle weakness. Muscular dystrophy is not one single disease; it is a broad group of more than 30 genetic diseases involving muscle weakness and muscle loss. For example, Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by mutations in the DMD gene that result in the absence or dysfunction of dystrophin, a protein that helps keep muscle cells intact. This means SMA often begins with nerve signal loss to the muscles, while many muscular dystrophies begin with structural problems inside the muscle tissue itself.
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