SMN1 and muscular atrophy: Currently a new therapy aimed at increasing SMN expression raised great expectations (Finkel et al., 2017), even though additional drugs are needed to counteract muscular atrophy: SMN is needed in both neurons and muscles (indeed its requirement is highest when the neuromuscular system is correctly established during development); moreover the efficacy of SMN-based treatments can be poor if the neuromuscular system is compromised, since delayed symptoms can later affect treated patients (Bowerman et al., 2017).