NMD4C: The Neuromuscular Disease Network for Canada

Study from the Neuromuscular Working Group of the Spanish Pediatric Neurology Society

The NMD4C would like to highlight a paper from the Neuromuscular Working Group of the Spanish Pediatric Neurology Society, who have recently published a study which aims to describe the clinical characteristics and outcome of COVID-19 in the pediatric NMD patient population.

The most prevalent NMD in the study were SMA type 1 and 2 (including patients undergoing treatment with nusinersen, risdiplam or salbutamol), and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (including patients undergoing treatment with deflazacort), along with several other neuromuscular conditions.

Although derived from a small sample size, the study’s conclusions suggest that the course of COVID-19 in pediatric NMD populations may not be as severe as expected, due to the mitigating role of young age compared to risk factors including decreased respiratory capacity or a weak cough.

The NMD4C hopes to see further studies published which examine the impact of the COVID-19 virus across both adult and pediatric NMD populations to further our knowledge of its impact within our community.

Read the full article here