Segmental Spinal Muscular Atrophy Localised to the Lower Limbs : First case from Oman

• Main Authors: Roshan Koul, Amna Al-Futaisi, Khalid Al-Thihli, Zandre Bruwer, Patrick Scott
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sultan Qaboos University 2017-08-01
• Series: Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal
• Subjects: spinal muscular atrophies of childhood; spinal muscular atrophy, segmental; muscle weakness; pes cavus; case report; oman.
• Online Access: https://journals.squ.edu.om/index.php/squmj/article/view/2238

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic lower motor neuron disease. It usually involves all of the skeletal muscles innervated by the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord. In rare cases, there is also localised involvement of the spinal cord. We report a 10-year-old boy who presented to the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, in 2015 with muscle weakness restricted to the lower limbs. The presence of a homozygous deletion within the survival of motor neuron 1 gene confirmed the diagnosis of SMA. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of an Omani patient with segmental SMA involving only the lower limbs. Treatment for this rare and relatively benign form of SMA is symptomatic and includes physiotherapy.