At the beginning of April 2024, SMA Europe, a non-profit umbrella organisation of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patient organisations from across Europe, opened its 12th call for SMA research projects.

The call is open to research proposals that address the needs of people who live with SMA and demonstrate a clear pathway to impacting those in the short or longer term.

Emilia Debska, communications and marketing manager at SMA Europe, says that priority will be given to projects concentrating on the following areas:

• reviving the motor unit in patients with SMA, with a specific interest for the role of neuromuscular junction (NMJ) (dys)function (including skeletal muscle and development/developmental vulnerability of motor neurons in the spinal cord/brain stem)
• biomarkers within and beyond the neuromuscular system
• how metabolism is affected in SMA and how this might influence peripheral organs

Emilia explains that SMA Europe strives for earlier diagnosis, effective treatments and optimal care for everyone living with SMA. Through achieving greater understanding, it hopes to create a better world for all those affected by the condition.

“We do this by elevating the patient’s voice, by empowering member organisations to advocate and campaign at a national level and through harnessing that network to advance research and influence stakeholders at European level.”

For more information about the call for research, the application procedure and eligibility criteria, please visit SMA Europe’s website:SMA Europe | Our Call for Research Projects | SMA Innovation (sma-europe.eu).

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