Newborn Screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Introduced in Alberta and Saskatchewan

We are excited to share that through the advocacy efforts of Muscular Dystrophy Canada (MDC), in the past week both Saskatchewan and Alberta’s provincial governments have implemented newborn screening (NBS) programs for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)!

On February 23rd, Saskatchewan officially expanded their newborn screening panel to include testing for SMA as part of its newborn screening program, and on February 28th Alberta announced that through a pilot project with MDC, newborns will be able to be screened for SMA

MDC continues to work diligently with donors, provincial governments, partners and supporters to remove barriers so that screening for SMA in Canada is a reality. Read more about MDC’s multi-year, multi-phase endeavour in collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. to better understand and address barriers for the implementation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).


Alberta and Saskatchewan are now provinces which offer newborn screening for SMA

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Important Deadlines for Ottawa NMD 2023

The Ottawa International Conference on Neuromuscular Disease and Biology (Ottawa NMD 2023) deadline for discounted early-bird registration and abstract submission is June 30th! 

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European Neuromuscular Centre Mid-Career Mentoring Programme Now Open

The European Neuromuscular Centre (ENMC) Mid-Career Mentoring Programme is now open for the third round of mentee candidates!

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$6 million Brain Canada grant awarded to McGill to develop virtual integrated patient platform

NMD4C are pleased to share that The Neuro has received a $6 million grant from Brain Canada to fund a new Open Science patient registry to share data with researchers around the world and let patients see how their data is used to develop new treatments for neurological disorders.

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The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) have recently released an article outlining the results of their building the future of clinical trials consultation in a What We Heard report.

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New Publication from NMD4C Investigators: Variability in Newborn Screening Across Canada: Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Beyond

A new study ‘Variability in Newborn Screening Across Canada: Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Beyond’ examines the differences between provincial newborn screening (NBS) programs and the variability of Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) screening inclusion within these.

Muscular Dystrophy Canada have announced the nine projects funded through their 2023 research grants competition.

Muscular Dystrophy Canada fund nine new projects through 2023 grant program

Muscular Dystrophy Canada (MDC) recently announced the results of their ‘Neuromuscular Clinical and Translational Research Grant Program’, and we are pleased to celebrate the many NMD4C investigators and members who are leading and supporting projects!