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No specific treatment is available. Management is only supportive and preventive.
Those who are diagnosed with the disease often die within the first few months of life. Almost all children with the disease die by the age of three.
Only symptomatic treatment for the management of disturbances can be indicated for affected individuals. The genetic origin of this disease would indicate gene therapy holds the most promise for future development of a cure. But at this time no specific treatments for Flynn–Aird syndrome exist.
Currently, purine replacement via S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) supplementation in people with Arts syndrome appears to improve their condition. This suggests that SAM supplementation can alleviate symptoms of PRPS1 deficient patients by replacing purine nucleotides and open new avenues of therapeutic intervention. Other non-clinical treatment options include educational programs tailored to their individual needs. Sensorineural hearing loss has been treated with cochlear implantation with good results. Ataxia and visual impairment from optic atrophy are treated in a routine manner. Routine immunizations against common childhood infections and annual influenza immunization can also help prevent any secondary infections from occurring.
Regular neuropsychological, audiologic, and ophthalmologic examinations are also recommended.
Carrier testing for at-risk relatives and prenatal testing for pregnancies at increased risk are possible if the disease-causing mutation in the family is known.
Treatment for MSS is symptomatic and supportive including physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, and special education. Cataracts must be removed when vision is impaired, generally in the first decade of life. Hormone replacement therapy is needed if hypogonadism is present.
Treatments are usually based on the individuals symptoms that are displayed. The seizures are controlled with anticonvulsant medication. For the behavior problems, the doctors proscribe to a few medications and behavioral modification routines that involve therapists and other types of therapy. Even if mental retardation is severe, it does not seem to shorten the lifespan of the patient or to get worse with age.
P. Flynn and Robert B. Aird observed this neuroectodermal syndrome after studying one family whose members suffered a number of neurological symptoms that were consistent from generation to generation. A number of the symptoms overlapped with several known neurological diseases such as Werner syndrome, Refsum syndrome, and Cockayne syndrome, which could be indicative of similar causative origins. However, these syndromes are recessively inherited as opposed to the dominant inheritance seen in the family studied by P. Flynn and Robert B. Aird. About 15% of family members exhibited full-blown symptoms characteristic of the disease while others showed some symptoms that overlapped with the general clinical manifestation of the syndrome.
One case of Cohen Syndrome, in a Palestinian boy from Tul-Karem, was reported in the Israeli monthly Kol Israel BeAsakim (in Hebrew) in the December 2007 issue. Over the past several years there have been approximately 50 new cases worldwide. There are population groups with this condition in Australia, the UK and the US. It still seems to go undiagnosed leaving the number of cases less than 500.
There is currently no cure for GAPO syndrome, but some options are available to reduce the symptoms. Nearsightedness, which affects some sufferers of the disease, can be treated by corrective lenses. Unfortunately, optic atrophy as a result of degradation of the optic nerve (common with GAPO syndrome) cannot be corrected. Corticosteroids have been proposed as a treatment for optic nerve atrophy, but their effectiveness is disputed, and no steroid based treatments are currently available.
Revesz syndrome has so far been observed only in children. There is not much information about the disease because of its low frequency in general population and under reporting of cases.
Brain MRI shows vermis atrophy or hypoplasic. Cerebral and cerebellar atrophy with white matter changes in some cases.
On September 15, 1991 in Sydney, Australia at the Prince of Wales Children's Hospital, reported on two brothers with a distinct facial appearance, severe mental retardation, short stature, cryptorchidism (undescended testicle), asplenia in one (absent spleen), dramatic failure to thrive, early hypotonia, and later hypertonia, all suggestive of the Smith–Fineman–Myers syndrome. All five of the reported cases have been males, suggesting X-linked inheritance.
On September 23, 1998 at the Hospital Injury Research and Rehabilitation at the University of São Paulo in Bauru, Brazil report on two boys, monozygotic twins born to normal and non consanguineous parents, presenting with an unusual facial appearance, cortical atrophy, dolichocephaly, short stature, cleft palate, micrognathia, prominent upper central incisors, bilateral Sidney line, minor foot deformities, unstableness in walking, early hypotonia, hyperreflexia, hyperactivity, psychomotor retardation, and severe delay in language development. These symptoms resemble those previously described in the Smith–Fineman–Myers syndrome.
Gillespie syndrome, also called aniridia, cerebellar ataxia and mental deficiency. is a rare genetic disorder. The disorder is characterized by partial aniridia (meaning that part of the iris is missing), ataxia (motor and coordination problems), and, in most cases, intellectual disability. It is heterogeneous, inherited in either an autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive manner. Gillespie syndrome was first described by American ophthalmologist Fredrick Gillespie in 1965.
VLDLR-associated cerebellar hypoplasia (VLDLRCH; alternative names: dysequilibrium syndrome, DES; nonprogressive cerebellar disorder with mental retardation) is a rare autosomal recessive condition caused by a disruption of the VLDLR gene. First described as a form of cerebral palsy in the 1970s, it is associated with parental consanguinity and is found in secluded communities, with a number of cases described in Hutterite families.
Cohen syndrome (also known as Pepper syndrome or Cervenka syndrome, named after Michael Cohen, William Pepper and Jaroslav Cervenka, who researched the illness) is a genetic disorder.
The outcome of this disease is dependent on the severity of the cardiac defects. Approximately 1 in 3 children with this diagnosis require shunting for the hydrocephaly that is often a consequence. Some children require extra assistance or therapy for delayed psychomotor and speech development, including hypotonia.
No treatment is available for most of these disorders. Mannose supplementation relieves the symptoms in PMI-CDG (CDG-Ib) for the most part, even though the hepatic fibrosis may persist. Fucose supplementation has had a partial effect on some SLC35C1-CDG (CDG-IIc or LAD-II) patients.
Mental retardation and microcephaly with pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia (MICPCH), also known as Mental retardation, X-linked, syndromic, Najm type (MRXSNA), is a rare genetic disorder of infants characterised by intellectual disability and pontocerebellar hypoplasia.
The disorder is associated with a mutation in the "CASK" gene which is transmitted in an X-linked manner. As with the vast majority of genetic disorders, there is no known cure to MICPCH.
The following values seem to be aberrant in children with CASK gene defects: lactate, pyruvate, 2-ketoglutarate, adipic acid and suberic acid, which seems to backup the proposal that CASK affects mitochondrial function. It is also speculated that phosphoinositide 3-kinase in the inositol metabolism is impacted in the disease, causing folic acid metabolization problems.
Walker–Warburg syndrome (WWS), also called Warburg syndrome, Chemke syndrome, HARD syndrome (Hydrocephalus, Agyria and Retinal Dysplasia), Pagon syndrome, cerebroocular dysgenesis (COD) or cerebroocular dysplasia-muscular dystrophy syndrome (COD-MD), is a rare form of autosomal recessive congenital muscular dystrophy. It is associated with brain (lissencephaly, hydrocephalus, cerebellar malformations) and eye abnormalities. This condition has a worldwide distribution. The overall incidence is unknown but a survey in North-eastern Italy has reported an incidence rate of 1.2 per 100,000 live births. It is the most severe form of congenital muscular dystrophy with most children dying before the age of three years.
An open-label Phase II clinical trial studying the use of red blood cells (erythrocytes) loaded with dexamethasone sodium phosphate found that this treatment improved symptoms and appeared to be well tolerated. This treatment uses a unique delivery system for medication by using the patient's own red blood cells as the delivery vehicle for the drug. Given the other immunologic deficits present in individuals with A-T, there remains a need to evaluate the therapeutic potential of steroids further, particularly with respect to the duration of any benefit and its long-term safety.
The severity of different forms of PCH varies, but many children inheriting the mutated gene responsible do not survive infancy or childhood; nevertheless, some individuals born with PCH have reached adulthood.
There is no treatment known to slow or stop the progression of the neurologic problems. Treatment of A-T is symptomatic and supportive. Physical, occupational and speech therapies and exercise may help maintain function but will not slow the course of neurodegeneration. Therapeutic exercises should not be used to the point of fatigue and should not interfere with activities of daily life. Certain anti-Parkinson and anti-epileptic drugs maybe useful in the management of symptoms, but should be prescribed in consultation with a neurologist.
3C syndrome is very rare, occurring in less than 1 birth per million. Because of consanguinity due to a founder effect, it is much more common in a remote First Nations village in Manitoba, where 1 in 9 people carries the recessive gene.
Treatment for Sturge–Weber syndrome is symptomatic. Laser treatment may be used to lighten or remove the birthmark. Anticonvulsant medications may be used to control seizures. Doctors recommend early monitoring for glaucoma, and surgery may be performed on more serious cases. When one side of the brain is affected and anticonvulsants prove ineffective, the standard treatment is neurosurgery to remove or disconnect the affected part of the brain (hemispherectomy). Physical therapy should be considered for infants and children with muscle weakness. Educational therapy is often prescribed for those with mental retardation or developmental delays, but there is no complete treatment for the delays.
Brain surgery involving removing the portion of the brain that is affected by the disorder can be successful in controlling the seizures so that the patient has only a few seizures that are much less intense than pre-surgery. Surgeons may also opt to "switch-off" the affected side of the brain.
Latanoprost (Xalatan), a prostaglandin, may significantly reduce IOP (intraocular pressure) in patients with glaucoma associated with Sturge–Weber syndrome. Latanoprost is commercially formulated as an aqueous solution in a concentration of 0.005% preserved with 0.02% benzalkonium chloride (BAC). The recommended dosage of latanoprost is one drop daily in the evening, which permits better diurnal IOP control than does morning instillation. Its effect is independent of race, gender or age, and it has few to no side effects. Contraindications include a history of CME, epiretinal membrane formation, vitreous loss during cataract surgery, history of macular edema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion, history of anterior uveitis, and diabetes mellitus. It is also wise to advise patients that unilateral treatment can result in heterochromia or hypertrichosis that may become cosmetically objectionable.
Marinesco–Sjögren syndrome (MSS), sometimes spelled Marinescu–Sjögren syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder.
Arts syndrome is a rare metabolic disorder that causes serious neurological problems in males due to a malfunction of the PRPP synthetase 1 enzyme. Arts Syndrome is part of a spectrum of PRPS-1 related disorders with reduced activity of the enzyme that includes Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease and X-linked non-syndromic sensorineural deafness.