Steve Bryson, PhD,  science writer—

Children with classic infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD), who were first treated as infants with Myozyme (alglucosidase alfa) — sold as Lumizyme in the U.S. — continue to experience heart, breathing, and cognitive deficits, as well as motor problems, despite long-term use of the older therapy, a small German…

Disease severity varied widely among adults with late-onset Pompe disease who underwent screening to assess their eligibility to participate in a gene therapy clinical trial, a study reports. Elevated levels of antibodies against the viral delivery vector were one of the exclusion criteria, suggesting that future studies may use…

Hypersensitive reactions to infusions of enzyme replacement therapies (ERT) to treat late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) were primarily mild and nonallergic, a small study reported. Many reactions were reported after a year of well tolerated ERT and most of them occurred in women, data showed. After the reactions, the ERT…

Motor problems in people with Pompe disease may be explained by damage to muscle spindles, which are sensory receptors that detect muscle movement and help regulate muscle tone and maintain posture, a mouse study suggested. Muscle spindle structure and function were “severely compromised” in Pompe mice, resulting in a…

Pombiliti (cipaglucosidase alfa), a component of AT-GAA, a two-part investigational therapy, has been approved to treat adults with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) in the European Union. The European Commission (EC) ruling comes on the heels of a positive opinion issued by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human…

Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, occurred in nearly one-third of children with Pompe disease treated with the enzyme replacement therapy Myozyme (alglucosidase alfa) in a small study. However, rapid desensitization regimens — using small doses initially and then increasing the doses — safely re-established tolerance to Myozyme in…

Researchers created and characterized an infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD) mouse model that carried a genetic defect commonly found among people with Southern Han Chinese ancestry, a study reported. The model recapitulated most of the signs and symptoms of IOPD and, according to researchers, is ideal to evaluate potential IOPD…

An MRI-based study found that progression of white matter involvement in the brain among patients with infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD) occurred at different rates and correlated with cognitive decline — despite ongoing treatment. White matter abnormalities also were tied to elevated bloodstream levels of the neurofilament light chain (NfL)…

A newborn boy was diagnosed with both infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD) and sickle cell disease (SCD) in the first case study to report two co-existing genetic disorders. The boy was given enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), a standard Pompe treatment, and regular blood transfusions to prevent heart damage…

Stem cell-mediated gene therapy normalized glycogen build-up in muscle, heart, and brain tissue of a Pompe disease mouse model, a study shows. Treatments also restored cellular defects and motor impairment associated with the condition. The researchers recommended stem cell-based gene therapy as a candidate for future clinical development. The…