Mandatory screening of the rare disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) of all newborns in entire Serbia will begin from September 14 at the expense of the State Health Insurance Fund (RFZO).
The goal of this type of screening immediately after birth is early diagnosis in the pre-symptomatic phase of the disease, which is essential for the outcome of the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy.
“The screening will be done in all maternity hospitals in Serbia, while the analysis of the samples will be done at the Belgrade Faculty of Biology, whose Human Molecular Genetics Centre has decades of experience in the molecular genetic diagnosis of rare diseases, primarily neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases, and adequately educated staff to analyze the results”, the RFZO added..
They also remind that SMA testing is not the only screening that is done in newborn babies at the state’s expense.
“Mandatory screening is also carried out for the three diseases – phenylketonuria, hypothyroidism and from 2021, cystic fibrosis,” the RFZO points out.
(Danas, 08.09.2023)
This post is also available in: Italiano