Spinal muscular atrophy with progressive myoclonic epilepsy (SMA-PME), sometimes called Jankovic–Rivera syndrome, is a very rare neurodegenerative disease whose symptoms include slowly progressive muscle (atrophy), predominantly affecting proximal muscles, combined with denervation and myoclonic seizures. Only 12 known human families are described in scientific literature to have SMA-PME.SMA-PME is associated with a missense mutation (c.125C→T) or deletion in exon 2 of the ASAH1 gene and is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. SMA-PME is closely related to a lysosomal disorder disease called Farber lipogranulomatosis. As with many genetic disorders, there is no known cure for SMA-PME. The condition was first described in 1979 by American researchers Joseph Jankovic and Victor M. Rivera. ASAH1 gene
The ASAH1 gene codes for acid ceramidase, an enzyme found in lysosomes. The lysosome breaks down acid ceramidase; the fatty acid component  is then used to produce myelin. Myelin is an insulating coating around the neurons in the body which helps to contain bioelectrical signals along a nerve cells axon and increase transmission rate. In patients with SMA-PME, the ceramidase function decreases to 33.33% effective. The lack of myelin resulting from the lack of acid ceramidase breakdown leads to nerve cell dysfunction. See also
Spinal muscular atrophies
Progressive myoclonus epilepsy

References
Further reading
National Institutes of Health (December 2013). "Genetics Home Reference: Spinal muscular atrophy with progressive myoclonic epilepsy". == External links ==
However, bacterial alpha-amylases from gut microbiome are able to degrade acarbose.Pancreatic alpha-amylase hydrolyzes complex starches to oligosaccharides in the lumen of the small intestine, whereas the membrane-bound intestinal alpha-glucosidases hydrolyze oligosaccharides, trisaccharides, and disaccharides to glucose and other monosaccharides in the small intestine. Inhibition of these enzyme systems reduces the rate of digestion of complex carbohydrates. Less glucose is absorbed because the carbohydrates are not broken down into glucose molecules. In diabetic patients, the short-term effect of these drug therapies is to decrease current blood glucose levels; the long-term effect is a reduction in HbA1c level. This reduction averages an absolute decrease of 0.7%, which is a decrease of about 10% in typical HbA1c values in diabetes studies. Combination therapy
The combination of acarbose with metformin results in greater reductions of HbA1c, fasting blood glucose and post-prandial glucose than either agent alone. Dosing
Since acarbose prevents the digestion of complex carbohydrates, the drug should be taken at the start of main meals (taken with first bite of meal). Moreover, the amount of complex carbohydrates in the meal will determine the effectiveness of acarbose in decreasing postprandial hyperglycemia. Adults may take doses of 25 mg 3 times daily, increasing to 100 mg 3 times a day. However the maximum dose per day is 600 mg.

Side-effects
Since acarbose prevents the degradation of complex carbohydrates into glucose, some carbohydrate will remain in the intestine and be delivered to the colon. In the colon, bacteria digest the complex carbohydrates, causing gastrointestinal side-effects such as flatulence (78% of patients) and diarrhea (14% of patients).