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Abstract Three new therapies for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency since 2016. Although these new therapies improve the quality of life of patients who are symptomatic at first treatment, administration before the onset of symptoms is significantly more effective. As a consequence, newborn screening programs have been initiated in several countries. In 2018, we launched a 3-year pilot program to screen newborns for SMA in the Belgian region of Liège. This program was rapidly expanding to all of Southern Belgium, a region of approximately 55,000 births annually. During the pilot program, 136,339 neonates were tested for deletion of exon 7 of SMN1, the most common cause of SMA. Nine SMA cases with homozygous deletion were identified through this screen. Another patient was identified after presenting with symptoms and was shown to be heterozygous for the SMN1 exon 7 deletion and a point mutation on the opposite allele. These ten patients were treated. The pilot program has now successfully transitioned into the official neonatal screening program in Southern Belgium. The lessons learned during implementation of this pilot program are reported.

Resumen: Introducción: El trasplante de progenitores hematopoyéticos (TPH) consiste en implantar elementos celulares capaces de generar un sistema hematopoyético nuevo y sano. El régimen de intensidad reducida (RIR) consiste en un tratamiento predominantemente inmunosupresor, para facilitar un implante progresivo con menor morbilidad. Este tipo de acondicionamiento puede también provocar mielosupresión, aunque potencialmente reversible en el tiempo.El acondicionamiento RIR permite aplicar TPH a pacientes con enfermedad genética en los que no es deseable añadir comorbilidad por las altas dosis de quimioterapia que conlleva el régimen mieloablativo convencional. Pacientes y métodos: Se analiza la evolución de 68 pacientes pediátricos con enfermedades genéticas que entre los años 2005-2013 se han sometido a un TPH con RIR en las Unidades pediátricas de Trasplante Hematopoyético de los hospitales españoles integrantes del Grupo Español para Trasplante de Médula Ósea en niños.Se trata de un estudio multicéntrico que incluye a 68 pacientes, de los cuales 43 presentan inmunodeficiencia primaria, 21 presentan hemopatía congénita y 4 están afectados de metabolopatía. Resultados: Cincuenta de los 68 pacientes se encuentran vivos (73,5%). La supervivencia global (SG) a 9 años es de 0,74. Veintitrés (33,8%) han presentado en el transcurso del TPH algún evento. Supervivencia libre de evento de 0,66. La SG en los pacientes con hemopatía es de 0,81; en las inmunodeficiencias primarias es de 0,70 y en las metabolopatías es de 0,4. No se observa diferencia significativa entre los 3 grupos de enfermedades. Respecto a la fuente de progenitores hematopoyéticos, la SG en los pacientes trasplantados con sangre periférica es de 0,74; con médula ósea es de 0,70 y con la sangre de cordón umbilical es de 0,70. No se observa tampoco diferencia estadística significativa. Conclusiones: En nuestro trabajo, de ámbito nacional, hemos evidenciado unos resultados favorables en TPH con régimen de intensidad reducida en las enfermedades genéticas. Cabe destacar que las metabolopatías requieren una consideración individualizada para sopesar en cada paciente los riesgos y beneficios que comporta el RIR. Abstract: Introduction: Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) involves implanting cellular elements capable of generating a new and healthy haematopoietic system. Reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) consists of an immunosuppressive treatment to facilitate a progressive implant with lower morbidity. This type of conditioning can also lead to myelosuppression, which is potentially reversible over time.Reduced intensity conditioning enables HSCT to be performed on patients with genetic diseases for whom added comorbidity is undesirable due to the high doses of chemotherapy that accompanies conventional myeloablative regimens. Patients and methods: An analysis was performed on the outcomes of 68 paediatric patients with genetic diseases who underwent HSCT with RIC between 2005 and 2013 in the of Paediatric Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Units that are part of the Spanish Working Group for Bone Marrow Transplantation in Children.A multicentre study was conducted including 68 patients, of whom 43 had Primary Immunodeficiency, 21 with congenital haematological diseases, and 4 with metabolic diseases. Results: Fifty (73.5%) of the 68 patients were still alive. The Overall Survival (OS) at nine years was 0.74. Twenty-three (33.8%) had some event during the course of the HSCT, with an event-free survival rate of 0.66. The OS in patients with haematological diseases was 0.81, being 0.7 in primary immunodeficiencies, and 0.4 in metabolic diseases. No significant difference was observed between the 3 groups of diseases. As regards the source of haematopoietic progenitors, there was an OS rate of 0.74 in patients transplanted with peripheral blood, 0.70 with bone marrow, and 0.70 and with cord blood, with no statistically significant differences. Conclusions: Favourable results have been obtained in HSCT with reduced intensity conditioning in genetic diseases. It should be noted that the risks and benefits of the RIC in patients with metabolic diseases need to be assessed on an individual basis.

Introduction: Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) involves implanting cellular elements capable of generating a new and healthy haematopoietic system. Reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) consists of an immunosuppressive treatment to facilitate a progressive implant with lower morbidity. This type of conditioning can also lead to myelosuppression, which is potentially reversible over time.Reduced intensity conditioning enables HSCT to be performed on patients with genetic diseases for whom added comorbidity is undesirable due to the high doses of chemotherapy that accompanies conventional myeloablative regimens. Patients and methods: An analysis was performed on the outcomes of 68 paediatric patients with genetic diseases who underwent HSCT with RIC between 2005 and 2013 in the of Paediatric Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Units that are part of the Spanish Working Group for Bone Marrow Transplantation in Children.A multicentre study was conducted including 68 patients, of whom 43 had Primary Immunodeficiency, 21 with congenital haematological diseases, and 4 with metabolic diseases. Results: Fifty (73.5%) of the 68 patients were still alive. The overall survival (OS) at nine years was 0.74. Twenty-three (33.8%) had some event during the course of the HSCT, with an event-free survival rate of 0.66. The OS in patients with haematological diseases was 0.81, being 0.7 in primary immunodeficiencies, and 0.4 in metabolic diseases. No significant difference was observed between the 3 groups of diseases. As regards the source of haematopoietic progenitors, there was an OS rate of 0.74 in patients transplanted with peripheral blood, 0.70 with bone marrow, and 0.70 and with cord blood, with no statistically significant differences. Conclusions: Favourable results have been obtained in HSCT with reduced intensity conditioning in genetic diseases. It should be noted that the risks and benefits of the RIC in patients with metabolic diseases need to be assessed on an individual basis. Resumen: Introducción: El trasplante de progenitores hematopoyéticos (TPH) consiste en implantar elementos celulares capaces de generar un sistema hematopoyético nuevo y sano. El régimen de intensidad reducida (RIR) consiste en un tratamiento predominantemente inmunosupresor, para facilitar un implante progresivo con menor morbilidad. Este tipo de acondicionamiento puede también provocar mielosupresión, aunque potencialmente reversible en el tiempo.El acondicionamiento RIR permite aplicar TPH a pacientes con enfermedad genética en los que no es deseable añadir comorbilidad por las altas dosis de quimioterapia que conlleva el régimen mieloablativo convencional. Pacientes y métodos: Se analiza la evolución de 68 pacientes pediátricos con enfermedades genéticas que entre los años 2005-2013 se han sometido a un TPH con RIR en las Unidades pediátricas de Trasplante Hematopoyético de los hospitales españoles integrantes del Grupo Español para Trasplante de Médula Ósea en niños.Se trata de un estudio multicéntrico que incluye a 68 pacientes, de los cuales 43 presentan inmunodeficiencia primaria, 21 presentan hemopatía congénita y 4 están afectados de metabolopatía. Resultados: Cincuenta de los 68 pacientes se encuentran vivos (73,5%). La supervivencia global (SG) a 9 años es de 0,74. Veintitrés (33,8%) han presentado en el transcurso del TPH algún evento. Supervivencia libre de evento de 0,66. La SG en los pacientes con hemopatía es de 0,81; en las inmunodeficiencias primarias es de 0,70 y en las metabolopatías es de 0,4. No se observa diferencia significativa entre los 3 grupos de enfermedades. Respecto a la fuente de progenitores hematopoyéticos, la SG en los pacientes trasplantados con sangre periférica es de 0,74; con médula ósea es de 0,70 y con la sangre de cordón umbilical es de 0,70. No se observa tampoco diferencia estadística significativa. Conclusiones: En nuestro trabajo, de ámbito nacional, hemos evidenciado unos resultados favorables en TPH con régimen de intensidad reducida en las enfermedades genéticas. Cabe destacar que las metabolopatías requieren una consideración individualizada para sopesar en cada paciente los riesgos y beneficios que comporta el RIR.