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Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy has a poor prognosis. Most children with FCMD reach a maximum mobility at sitting upright and sliding. Due to the compounded effects of continually worsening heart problems, impaired mental development, problems swallowing and additional complications, children with FCMD rarely live through adolescence, the disorder proves fatal by age 20.
Treatment: There is no treatment or way to reverse the disease. Treatment will focus on the symptoms an individual has, such as seizure medication.
- It is possible that if an individual receives a bone marrow transplant, they could receive healthy bone marrow cells which would produce normal amounts of fucosidase. But there not is enough research to prove this is an effective treatment.
Fucosidosis is an extremely rare disorder first described in 1962 in two Italian siblings who showed progressive intellectual disability and neurological deterioration. The disease itself is extremely rare (less than 100 documented cases) only affecting 1:2,000,000, with most cases being occurring in Italy, Cuba, and the southwest U.S. The disease has three different types. Type 1 and 2 are considered severe, and Type 3 being a mild disease. Symptoms are highly variable with mild cases being able to live to within the third or fourth decade. Type 1 and 2 are both linked with mental retardation. Severe cases can develop life-threatening complications early in childhood.
Because the major accumulating glycoconjugate in fucosidosis patients is the blood group H-antigen, it is intriguing to speculate, but the evidence is not clear at this time, that blood type may affect the course of the disease.
Currently this sub-type of muscular dystrophy has no cure and no "definitive" treatment exists. Treatment offers preventative tactics to delay muscle breakdown and increase life expectancy. Stretching and physical therapy can increase mobility. Treatment also includes correcting skeletal abnormalities through orthopedic surgery and other orthopedic techniques. Antiepileptic medication is administered to help prevent seizures. ACE inhibitors and beta blockers help treat heart conditions, and respiratory assistance is more than likely needed at some point for the affected individual
The treatment of 2-Hydroxyglutaric aciduria is based on seizure control, the prognosis depends on how severe the condition is.
The prognosis for individuals with Pompe disease varies according to the onset and severity of symptoms. Without treatment the disease is particularly lethal in infants and young children.
Myozyme (alglucosidase alfa) is a recombinant form of the human enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase, and is also currently being used to replace the missing enzyme. In a study which included the largest cohort of patients with Pompe disease treated with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) to date findings showed that Myozyme treatment clearly prolongs ventilator-free survival and overall survival in patients with infantile-onset Pompe disease as compared to an untreated historical control population. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that initiation of ERT prior to 6 months of age, which could be facilitated by newborn screening, shows great promise to reduce the mortality and disability associated with this devastating disorder. Taiwan and several states in the United States have started the newborn screening and results of such regimen in early diagnosis and early initiation of the therapy have dramatically improved the outcome of the disease; many of these babies have reached the normal motor developmental milestones.
Another factor affecting the treatment response is generation of antibodies against the infused enzyme, which is particularly severe in Pompe infants who have complete deficiency of the acid alpha-glucosidase. Immune tolerance therapy to eliminate these antibodies has improved the treatment outcome.
A Late Onset Treatment Study (LOTS) was published in 2010. The study was undertaken to evaluate the safety and efficacy of aglucosidase alfa in juvenile and adult patients with Pompe disease. LOTS was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that enrolled 90 patients at eight primary sites in the United States and Europe. Participants received either aglucosidase alfa or a placebo every other week for 18 months. The average age of study participants was 44 years. The primary efficacy endpoints of the study sought to determine the effect of Myozyme on functional endurance as measured by the six-minute walk test and to determine the effect of aglucosidase alfa on pulmonary function as measured by percent predicted forced vital capacity.
The results showed that, at 78 weeks, patients treated with aglucosidase alfa increased their distance walked in six minutes by an average of approximately 25 meters as compared with the placebo group which declined by 3 meters (P=0.03). The placebo group did not show any improvement from baseline. The average baseline distance walked in six minutes in both groups was approximately 325 meters.
Percent predicted forced vital capacity in the group of patients treated with aglucosidase alfa increased by 1.2 percent at 78 weeks. In contrast, it declined by approximately 2.2 percent in the placebo group (P=0.006).
There is no cure for congenital alpha-mannosidosis. Treatment is limited to reducing or controlling the symptoms of this disorder by, for example, taking medication to control seizures, using a hearing aid to assist with hearing loss, and by having routine physical therapy to assist with muscular pain and weakness. In some cases, a wheelchair is recommended if muscle or spinal impairments immobilize the individual affected. Despite early reports to the contrary, bone marrow transplants performed at an early age have shown promise in halting the progression of this disorder.
The long-term prognosis of Costeff syndrome is unknown, though it appears to have no effect on life expectancy at least up to the fourth decade of life. However, as mentioned previously, movement problems can often be severe enough to confine individuals to a wheelchair at an early age, and both visual acuity and spasticity tend to worsen over time.
There is a deficiency of malate in patients because fumarase enzyme can't convert fumarate into it therefore treatment is with oral malic acid which will allow the krebs cycle to continue, and eventually make ATP.
The life expectancy in alpha-mannosidosis is highly variable. Individuals with early onset severe disease often do not survive beyond childhood, whereas those with milder disorders may survive well into adult life.
Cardiac and respiratory complications are treated symptomatically. Physical and occupational therapy may be beneficial for some patients. Alterations in diet may provide temporary improvement but will not alter the course of the disease. Genetic counseling can provide families with information regarding risk in future pregnancies.
On April 28, 2006 the US Food and Drug Administration approved a Biologic License Application (BLA) for Myozyme (alglucosidase alfa, rhGAA), the first treatment for patients with Pompe disease, developed by a team of Duke University researchers. This was based on enzyme replacement therapy using biologically active recombinant human alglucosidase alfa produced in Chinese Hamster Ovary cells. Myozyme falls under the FDA Orphan Drug designation and was approved under a priority review.
The FDA has approved Myozyme for administration by intravenous infusion of the solution. The safety and efficacy of Myozyme were assessed in two separate clinical trials in 39 infantile-onset patients with Pompe disease ranging in age from 1 month to 3.5 years at the time of the first infusion. Myozyme treatment clearly prolongs ventilator-free survival and overall survival. Early diagnosis and early treatment leads to much better outcomes. The treatment is not without side effects which include fever, flushing, skin rash, increased heart rate and even shock; these conditions, however, are usually manageable.
Myozyme costs an average of US$300,000 a year and must be taken for the patients' entire life, so some American insurers have refused to pay for it. On August 14, 2006, Health Canada approved Myozyme for the treatment of Pompe disease. On June 14, 2007 the Canadian Common Drug Review issued their recommendations regarding public funding for Myozyme therapy. Their recommendation was to provide funding to treat a very small subset of Pompe patients (Infants less one year of age with cardiomyopathy). Genzyme received broad approval in the European Union. On May 26, 2010 FDA approved Lumizyme, a similar version of Myozyme, for the treament of late-onset Pompe disease.
A new treatment option for this disease is called Lumizyme. Lumizyme and Myozyme have the same generic ingredient (Alglucosidase Alfa) and manufacturer (Genzyme Corporation). The difference between these two products is in the manufacturing process. Today, the Myozyme is made using a 160-L bioreactor, while the Lumizyme uses a 4000-L bioreactor. Because of the difference in the manufacturing process, the FDA claims that the two products are biologically different. Moreover, Lumizyme is FDA approved as replacement therapy for late-onset (noninfantile) Pompe disease without evidence of cardiac hypertrophy in patients 8 years and older. Myozyme is FDA approved for replacement therapy for infantile-onset Pompe disease.
Recent studies on chaperone molecules to be used with myozyme are starting to show promising results on animal models.
Infants with Schindler disease tend to die within 4 years of birth, therefore, treatment for this form of the disease is mostly palliative. However, Type II Schindler disease, with its late onset of symptoms, is not characterized by neurological degeneration. There is no known cure for Schindler disease, but bone marrow transplants have been trialed, as they have been successful in curing other glycoprotein disorders.
Due to the rarity of the disease, it is hard to estimate mortality rates or life expectancy. One 2003 study which followed 88 cases receiving two different kinds of treatment found that very few persons lived beyond age 20 and none beyond age 30.
There is currently no cure for Costeff syndrome. Treatment is supportive, and thus focuses on management of the symptoms. The resulting visual impairment, spasticity, and movement disorders are treated in the same way as similar cases occurring in the general population.
During prolonged periods of fasting, ketone bodies serve as the primary energy source for the brain. In 2006, Henderson et al. showed that there is a therapeutic effect of maintaining a ketogenic diet – a diet consisting of high fat/low carbohydrate meals – in children with epilepsy. Ketogenic diets have also been shown to have some neuroprotective effects in models of Parkinson's disease and hypoxia as well. In a recent study conducted at the Hospital for Sick Children in Canada in 2007, researchers found that a ketogenic diet prolonged the lifespan of Aldh5a1-/- mice by greater than 300%, along with the normalization of ataxia and some improvement in various seizure types seen in SSADH deficient murine models. These effects were in conjunction with "...a significant restoration of GABAergic synaptic activity and region-specific restoration of GABA receptor associated chloride channel binding." Ultimately, the data seen in the study indicated that a ketogenic diet may work in its ability to restore GABAergic inhibition. But further studies on murine models need to be conducted, ultimately leading to the possibility of conducting a controlled study on humans afflicted with the disorder.
There is speculation that a ketogenic diet may be harmful for humans with SSADH deficiency as it may cause elevated levels of GHB in the bloodstream.
While SSADH deficiency has been studied for nearly 30 years, knowledge of the disorder and its pathophysiology remains unclear. However, the progress that has been made with both murine and human models of the disorder have provided a lot of insights into how the disease manifests itself and what more can be done in terms of therapeutic interventions. Much of the current research into SSADH has been led by a dedicated team of physicians and scientists, including Phillip L. Pearl, MD of the Boston Children's Hospital at Harvard Medical School and K. Michael Gibson, PhD of Washington State University College of Pharmacy. Both have contributed significant efforts to finding appropriate therapies for SSADH deficiency and have specifically spent most of their recent efforts into understanding the efficacy of the ketogenic diet for patients with SSADH deficiency. In addition, a lot of the research that was published in 2007 examined the pathogenesis for the disorder by examining the role of oxidative stress on tissues in various cerebral structures of Aldh5a1-/- mice.
Ultimately, the metabolic pathway of SSADH deficiency is known, but how the enzyme deficiency and accumulation of GABA and GHB contribute to the clinical phenotype is not. For the future however, treatment strategies should focus on both decreasing the total production of GHB and increasing the total concentration of GABA and further assessing whether the effects of these changes influences the neurological manifestations seen in patients afflicted with SSADH deficiency.
Response to treatment is variable and the long-term and functional outcome is unknown. To provide a basis for improving the understanding of the epidemiology, genotype/phenotype correlation and outcome of these diseases their impact on the quality of life of patients, and for evaluating diagnostic and therapeutic strategies a patient registry was established by the noncommercial International Working Group on Neurotransmitter Related Disorders (iNTD).
Currently there is no cure for these disorders. Medical care is directed at treating systemic conditions and improving the person's quality of life. Physical therapy and daily exercise may delay joint problems and improve the ability to move.
Changes to the diet will not prevent disease progression, but limiting milk, sugar, and dairy products has helped some individuals experiencing excessive mucus.
Surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids may improve breathing among affected individuals with obstructive airway disorders and sleep apnea. Sleep studies can assess airway status and the possible need for nighttime oxygen. Some patients may require surgical insertion of an endotrachial tube to aid breathing. Surgery can also correct hernias, help drain excessive cerebrospinal fluid from the brain, and free nerves and nerve roots compressed by skeletal and other abnormalities. Corneal transplants may improve vision among patients with significant corneal clouding.
Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) are currently in use or are being tested. Enzyme replacement therapy has proven useful in reducing non-neurological symptoms and pain. Currently BioMarin Pharmaceutical produces enzyme replacement therapies for MPS type I and VI. Aldurazyme is an enzymatic replacement therapy for alpha-L-iduronidase produced by BioMarin for use in Type I MPS. In July 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved a synthetic version of I2S produced by Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, called Elaprase, as a treatment for MPS type II (Hunter syndrome).
Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) have had limited success in treating the mucopolysaccharidoses. Abnormal physical characteristics, except for those affecting the skeleton and eyes, may be improved, but neurologic outcomes have varied. BMT and UCBT are high-risk procedures and are usually performed only after family members receive extensive evaluation and counseling.
For information on clinical trials visit Clinical Trials Search
The conversion of tryptophan to serotonin and other metabolites depends on vitamin B. If tryptophan catabolism has any impact on brain glutaric acid and other catabolite levels, vitamin B levels should be routinely assayed and normalized in the course of the treatment of GA1.
Less than 20 patients with MGA type I have been reported in the literature (Mol Genet Metab. 2011 Nov;104(3):410-3. Epub 2011 Jul 26.)
Vegetarian diets and, for younger children, breastfeeding are common ways to limit protein intake without endangering tryptophan transport to the brain.
Treatment for glycogen storage disease type III may involve a high-protein diet, in order to facilitate gluconeogenesis. Additionally the individual may need:
- IV glucose (if oral route is inadvisable)
- Nutritional specialist
- Vitamin D (for osteoporosis/secondary complication)
- Hepatic transplant (if complication occurs)
2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria is a rare neurometabolic disorder characterized by the significantly elevated levels of hydroxyglutaric acid in ones urine. It is either autosomal recessive or autosomal dominant.
It has been documented, to date, in more than 120 males (see Human Tafazzin ("TAZ") Gene Mutation & Variation Database). It is believed to be severely under-diagnosed and may be estimated to occur in 1 out of approximately 300,000 births. Family members of the Barth Syndrome Foundation and its affiliates live in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Japan, South Africa, Kuwait, and Australia.
Barth syndrome has been predominately diagnosed in males, although by 2012 a female case had been reported.
No cures for lysosomal storage diseases are known, and treatment is mostly symptomatic, although bone marrow transplantation and enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) have been tried with some success. ERT can minimize symptoms and prevent permanent damage to the body. In addition, umbilical cord blood transplantation is being performed at specialized centers for a number of these diseases. In addition, substrate reduction therapy, a method used to decrease the production of storage material, is currently being evaluated for some of these diseases. Furthermore, chaperone therapy, a technique used to stabilize the defective enzymes produced by patients, is being examined for certain of these disorders. The experimental technique of gene therapy may offer cures in the future.
Ambroxol has recently been shown to increase activity of the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase, so it may be a useful therapeutic agent for both Gaucher disease and Parkinson's disease. Ambroxol triggers the secretion of lysosomes from cells by inducing a pH-dependent calcium release from acidic calcium stores. Hence, relieving the cell from accumulating degradation products is a proposed mechanism by which this drug may help.
Fumarase deficiency is extremely rare - until around 1990 there had only been 13 diagnosed and identified cases worldwide.
A cluster of 20 cases has since been documented in the twin towns of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah among an inbred community of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.