scholarly journals Views of the General Population on Newborn Screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy in Japan

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 694
Author(s):  
Tomoko Lee ◽  
Sachi Tokunaga ◽  
Naoko Taniguchi ◽  
Tetsuro Fujino ◽  
Midori Saito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Early Diagnosis ◽  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Newborn Screening ◽  
Muscle Atrophy ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Neuromuscular Disorder ◽  
New Therapies

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic neuromuscular disorder that results in progressive muscle atrophy and weakness. As new therapies for SMA have been developed, newborn screening for SMA can lead to early diagnosis and treatment. The objective of this study was to gather the general population’s view on screening of SMA in newborns in Japan. A questionnaire survey was conducted on two general population groups in Japan. A total of 269 valid responses were obtained. In the general population, about half of the participants had no knowledge about SMA, and more than 90% did not know about new therapies for SMA. Conversely, more than 95% of the general population agreed with screening newborns for SMA because they believed that early diagnosis was important, and treatments were available. This study revealed that the general population in Japan mostly agreed with screening for SMA in newborns even though they did not know much about SMA. Newborn screening for SMA is promising, but it is in very early stages. Therefore, SMA newborn screening should be performed with sufficient preparation and consideration in order to have a positive impact on SMA patients and their families.

scholarly journals A Novel System for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Screening in Newborns: Japanese Pilot Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masakazu Shinohara ◽  
Emma Tabe Eko Niba ◽  
Yogik Onky Silvana Wijaya ◽  
Izumi Takayama ◽  
Chisako Mitsuishi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Newborn Screening ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Patent Application ◽  
Dried Blood Spots ◽  
Neuromuscular Disorder ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Japanese Patent ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
New System

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disorder caused by SMN1 gene deletion/mutation. The drug nusinersen modifies SMN2 mRNA splicing, increasing the production of the full-length SMN protein. Recent studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of nusinersen in patients with SMA, particularly when treated in early infancy. Because nusinersen treatment can alter disease trajectory, there is a strong rationale for newborn screening. In the current study, we validated the accuracy of a new system for detecting SMN1 deletion (Japanese patent application No. 2017-196967, PCT/JP2018/37732) using dried blood spots (DBS) from 50 patients with genetically confirmed SMA and 50 controls. Our system consists of two steps: (1) targeted pre-amplification of SMN genes by direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and (2) detection of SMN1 deletion by real-time modified competitive oligonucleotide priming-PCR (mCOP-PCR) using the pre-amplified products. Compared with PCR analysis results of freshly collected blood samples, our system exhibited a sensitivity of 1.00 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96–1.00) and a specificity of 1.00 (95% CI 0.96–1.00). We also conducted a prospective SMA screening study using DBS from 4157 Japanese newborns. All DBS tested negative, and there were no screening failures. Our results indicate that the new system can be reliably used in SMA newborn screening.

scholarly journals Three years pilot of spinal muscular atrophy newborn screening turned into official program in Southern Belgium

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
François Boemer ◽  
Jean-Hubert Caberg ◽  
Pablo Beckers ◽  
Vinciane Dideberg ◽  
Samantha di Fiore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Newborn Screening ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
European Medicines Agency ◽  
Pilot Program ◽  
Screening Programs ◽  
New Therapies

AbstractThree new therapies for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency since 2016. Although these new therapies improve the quality of life of patients who are symptomatic at first treatment, administration before the onset of symptoms is significantly more effective. As a consequence, newborn screening programs have been initiated in several countries. In 2018, we launched a 3-year pilot program to screen newborns for SMA in the Belgian region of Liège. This program was rapidly expanding to all of Southern Belgium, a region of approximately 55,000 births annually. During the pilot program, 136,339 neonates were tested for deletion of exon 7 of SMN1, the most common cause of SMA. Nine SMA cases with homozygous deletion were identified through this screen. Another patient was identified after presenting with symptoms and was shown to be heterozygous for the SMN1 exon 7 deletion and a point mutation on the opposite allele. These ten patients were treated. The pilot program has now successfully transitioned into the official neonatal screening program in Southern Belgium. The lessons learned during implementation of this pilot program are reported.

scholarly journals Massachusetts’ Findings from Statewide Newborn Screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Jaime E. Hale ◽  
Basil T. Darras ◽  
Kathryn J. Swoboda ◽  
Elicia Estrella ◽  
Jin Yun Helen Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Newborn Screening ◽  
New England ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Newborn Screening Program ◽  
Treatment Protocols ◽  
Screening Algorithm ◽  
New Treatment

Massachusetts began newborn screening (NBS) for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) following the availability of new treatment options. The New England Newborn Screening Program developed, validated, and implemented a screening algorithm for the detection of SMA-affected infants who show absent SMN1 Exon 7 by Real-Time™ quantitative PCR (qPCR). We screened 179,467 neonates and identified 9 SMA-affected infants, all of whom were referred to a specialist by day of life 6 (average and median 4 days of life). Another ten SMN1 hybrids were observed but never referred. The nine referred infants who were confirmed to have SMA were entered into treatment protocols. Early data show that some SMA-affected children have remained asymptomatic and are meeting developmental milestones and some have mild to moderate delays. The Massachusetts experience demonstrates that SMA NBS is feasible, can be implemented on a population basis, and helps engage infants for early treatment to maximize benefit.

Newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy: Anticipating an imminent need

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han C. Phan ◽  
Jennifer L. Taylor ◽  
Harry Hannon ◽  
Rodney Howell
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Newborn Screening ◽  
Muscular Atrophy

Integrating a Pilot Newborn Screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Into the Australian Public Healthcare System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlene M. D'Silva ◽  
Hugo Sampaio ◽  
Didu Sanduni Thamarasa Kariyawasam ◽  
David Mowat ◽  
Jacqui Russell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Newborn Screening ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Public Healthcare System

Newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy with disease-modifying therapies: a cost-effectiveness analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. jnnp-2021-326344
Author(s):  
Sophy TF Shih ◽  
Michelle Anne Farrar ◽  
Veronica Wiley ◽  
Georgina Chambers
Keyword(s):  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Newborn Screening ◽  
Markov Models ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Early Gene ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Late Treatment

ObjectiveTo assess cost-effectiveness of newborn screening (NBS) for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and early treatment with nusinersen or onasemnogene abeparvovec (gene therapy), compared with nusinersen without SMA screening.MethodsInformed by an Australian state-wide SMA NBS programme, a decision analytical model nested with Markov models was constructed to evaluate costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) from a societal perspective with sensitivity analyses.ResultsBy treating one presymptomatic SMA infant with nusinersen or gene therapy, an additional 9.93 QALYs were gained over 60 years compared with late treatment in clinically diagnosed SMA. The societal cost was $9.8 million for early nusinersen treatment, $4.4 million for early gene therapy and $4.8 million for late nusinersen treatment. Compared with late nusinersen treatment, early gene therapy would be dominant, gaining 9.93 QALYs while saving $360 000; whereas early nusinersen treatment would result in a discounted incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $507 000/QALY.At a population level, compared with no screening and late treatment with nusinersen, NBS and early gene therapy resulted in 0.00085 QALY gained over 60 years and saving $24 per infant screened (85 QALYs gained and $2.4 million saving per 100 000 infants screened). More than three quarters of simulated ICERs by probability sensitivity analyses showed NBS and gene therapy would be dominant or less than $50 000/QALY, compared with no screening and late nusinersen treatment.ConclusionNBS coupled with gene therapy improves the quality and length of life for infants with SMA and would be considered value-for-money from an Australian clinical and policy context.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document