Coronavirus and SCN8A
There is still much that scientists and doctors don’t know about the new coronavirus and the illness it causes. With three months of data there are now some emerging trends. The elderly are more likely to fall into the high-risk category, while children don’t appear to get as sick. Indeed, very few children are known to have developed the disease. Researchers are still trying to figure out why this is the case. The big unknown for us is how at risk our children are, as well as other children with chronic conditions. We can assume that if a child has compromising comorbidities, especially involving respiratory challenges or those resulting in immunosuppression as a result of their disease or the medication that they are taking, then we must take extra precautions in preventing them from being exposed. This is not new information for us as the same is true for any virus, whether it causes a simple cold or a more serious flu. Because many of us also have healthy children that are out and about, we need to consider the health and risks for our whole family. Here are some links that may be helpful as reminders and that may provide answers to questions about the coronavirus outbreak.
In general, healthy family members should engage in usual preventive actions to avoid infection, including cleaning hands often using soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer, avoiding people who are sick, and staying up to date on vaccinations, including influenza vaccine.
Additional Key points:
- Stock up on medications and supplies.
- Stay close to home and keep space between your child and others.
- If you need to go out in public, avoid crowds and keep away from others who are sick.
- Monitor the health of all caregivers and ask if they know others who are sick.
- Isolate any family members with symptoms.
- If there is an outbreak in your community, stay home as much as possible.
Further Reading:
What is SCN8A
SCN8A is a gene that encodes a voltage-gated sodium channel. SCN8A is a gene that plays an important role in regulating excitability in the brain.
What We Do
SCN8A.net offers a new vision for helping those living with, treating and/or researching SCN8A, facilitating communication among families, physicians and scientists.
Features of the Website
Families
Much of what we know about SCN8A has come from families openly sharing their experiences with this disorder. We invite you to explore our public pages as well as pages that are restricted to those with a family/caregiver account. You will find information about developments in the science of SCN8A, medications and treatment options, what to ask your doctor, and more.
Doctors
SCN8A-related disorders can be very difficult to manage, even for physicians familiar with other forms of epilepsy. For medical professionals, we offer current information on the genetics of SCN8A, clinical variability among children with 8A mutations, a directory of doctors and genetic counselors, a lab directory, and other resources.
Researchers
Learn about a specific gene variant using our variant look-up, or access full tables of all SCN8A variants in our curated SCN8A using your researcher account. Please also consider sharing pre-publication material or unpublished data to build the most comprehensive knowledge base on SCN8A-related disorders.
How You Can Help!
Become a Member
Create your account and then sign up with a membership form to gain access to the private sections of the website. Family members get access to the SCN8A Registry, while researchers and clinicians get access to our database of variants and other information.
Register
SCN8A Registry
Our team has tailored the SCN8A Registry Questionnaire to better meet the needs of our children, and to address the increasing diversity of our SCN8A community. Please take the single most important step you can to advance the scientific understanding of SCN8A—and fill out the new questionnaire, which is now available in the Registry section of the website!
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Donate
Thank you for your contribution to support families, researchers, and doctors that are working to improve the lives of children with SCN8A-related disorders.
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