All newborns in Minnesota are now being screened for a treatable disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), unless their parents don’t want them checked for it.  Sondra Rosendahl with the state Health Department says a new FDA-approved treatment can significantly modify the course of the disease

 

State officials say newborn screening — now for 61 potential conditions — saves lives and reduces serious health problems for a significant number of the nearly 70-thousand babies born in Minnesota every year.