Communicative development inventory in type 1 and presymptomatic infants with spinal muscular atrophy: a cohort study.

The aim of this study was to assess early language acquisitions in treated individuals with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 and in infants identified by newborn screening (NBS). Parents of SMA individuals aged between 8 and 36 months were asked to fill in the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (MB-CDI) that assesses comprehension, gesture and expressive skills. A follow-up assessment was performed in 21 of the 36. The MB-CDI was completed by parents of 24 type 1 and 12 infants identified by NBS. Comprehension skills were preserved in 81% of the type 1 SMA and in 87% infants identified by NBS. Gesture abilities were <5th centile in 55% of the type 1 SMA and in none of those identified by NBS. Lexical expressions were <5th centile in more than 80% type 1 SMA and in 50% of infants identified by NBS. At follow-up, despite an increase in lexical expression skills, the scores remained below the fifth centile in 43% type 1 SMA and in 86% of infants identified by NBS. These results suggest that language and communication development may follow a similar pattern to that observed in motor function with the possibility to develop skills (eg, ability to say clear words) that are not usually present in untreated infants but with a level of performance that does not reach that of their typically developing peers.

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Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Competing interests: GC, MR, CT, AC, MCP, GCo, RM and AD'A report personal fees from Biogen, Roche and Novartis outside the submitted work. MP is part of advisory boards for Biogen, Roche, AveXis and Novartis. EM is part of advisory boards for Biogen, Roche, AveXis, Novartis, Scholar Rock, Epirium, Cytokinetics and NMD Pharma.