Rare Disease Mimics Child Abuse and Tears Family Apart

In 2008, false child abuse charges triggered a murder-suicide in Colorado when authorities confused a baby's broken bones, actually caused by a genetic disorder, for abuse. Now, four years later, after all lawsuits have been unsuccessful, the baby's maternal grandparents are leading an awareness campaign, saying the tragedy could have been averted if doctors knew more about spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA. The grandfather has said, "I don't have a problem at all with social services coming and taking a child and doing an investigation… There is a need for this service. There are bad people out there and kids need to be protected… But the system did the opposite… It tore a family apart." The president of the SMA Foundation has said, "So few doctors are aware of the disease and it causes a wide variety of symptoms. It's really an awareness problem." SMA is the leading genetic cause of death in infants and toddlers, affecting as many as 10,000 to 25,000 children and adults in the United States, according to the SMA Foundation.

ABC News, 4/4/2012