USask sets landmark care standards for rare disorder

SASKATOON — Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) have published the first Canadian clinical guidelines for Spinal Bulbar Muscular Atrophy (SBMA), a rare hereditary neuromuscular disorder.

The guidelines, titled Best Practice Recommendations for the Clinical Care of Spinal Bulbar Muscular Atrophy, were published on September 22 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

SBMA, also known as Kennedy’s Disease, is a slowly progressive condition affecting lower motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness, atrophy and fasciculations. While globally rare, estimated at one to two cases per 100,000—the highest known prevalence in the world is among Indigenous populations in Saskatchewan, reaching 14.7 per 100,000.

Led by Dr. Kerri Schellenberg (MD), associate professor, neurolog