Episode 26: 40th Anniversary of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’/ Spinal Muscular Atrophy

To start the episode the guys give their thoughts on two recent summer movies; Asif talks about “The Suicide Squad” and Ali reviews “The Green Knight” (2:00). Then the guys talk about the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest summer movies of all time, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (18:55). The guys start off by talking about their personal connections to the movie. They then talk about how George Lucas and Steven Spielberg crafted the character of Indiana Jones and the development of the first movie, as well as trivia about the film. Then Ali asks Asif about Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) (39:39). Asif goes over the genetic cause of the disorder as well as the common presenting symptoms. Asif then goes over the (near-miraculous) new treatments for SMA and the high cost of these new therapies.

Show notes:

• • The Pulp and Pleasure of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ 40 Years Later: https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/6/11/22528978/indiana-jones-raiders-lost-ark-anniversary-lost-knowledge
  • The Making Of Raiders Of The Lost Ark: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/indiana-jones-making-raiders-lost-ark/
  • Advances in Treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy – New Phenotypes, New Challenges, New Implications for Care: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7029319/
  • Spinal muscular atrophy — insights and challenges in the treatment era: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41582-020-00413-4
  • Canadian first: Baby with rare disorder given early treatment thanks to new screening at CHEO: https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/canadian-first-baby-with-rare-disorder-given-early-treatment-thanks-to-new-screening-at-cheo-1.5214124

YouTube video links from various US hospitals regarding patients treated for spinal muscular atrophy:

• UNC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEIXKHptpiQ
• Children’s Hospital Colorado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DcO4fJ09ng
• Nationwide children’s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRrqbvUv6gQ