A newborn screening program for Pompe disease in Minnesota was found effective for getting babies with infantile-onset disease started on early treatment, but challenges remain for those with late-onset disease (LOPD). “The management of LOPD cases including the establishment of standardized follow up guidelines … and a better…
News
After more than a decade on Lumizyme (alglucosidase alfa), a teenager with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) developed an immune response against the therapy, which led to a worsening of disease symptoms. The patient was treated successfully with an immune-modulating therapy regimen that eliminated the aberrant immune response and…
Blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) — a marker of nerve cell damage — are increased from infancy to young adulthood in classic infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD) patients given enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), a study shows. This contrasted significantly with the blood NfL level reduction seen in…
The enzyme stabilizer Opfolda (miglustat), one part of the two-component therapy formerly known as AT-GAA (cipaglucosidase alfa/miglustat), has been approved by the European Commission to treat adults with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD). The news comes a few months after the other part of AT-GAA, the enzyme replacement Pombiliti…
Among children with classic infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD), enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) was associated with prolonged survival, but mortality rates remained high, according to a recent French study. In general, while mortality rates were high in the first three years of life, patients then stabilized on ERT for…
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…
Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for Pompe disease can be safely implemented at home, according to a study in the Netherlands. “Insights from this study can be used as a base for implementing home-based ERT in other countries and to further optimize patient care,” researchers wrote. The study, “Home-based…
The switch to at-home infusions of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) — made necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic — had a positive effect on people with Pompe disease and their families, a new study has found. “Our data underline that new therapeutic solutions are possible for chronic diseases…
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…
People with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) rarely have genetic variations in genes that are important for making glycogen in muscle cells, a new study suggests. “We did not find a single variant that strongly affected the phenotype,” or observable characteristics in patients that result from the expression of a…
Recent Posts
- Some decisions don’t feel like choices in our Pompe disease journey
- LOPD patients face long delays in diagnosis, gaps in healthcare: Survey
- The joy of unexpected connections with other families who ‘get it’
- Newborn screening for Pompe disease helps avoid years of treatment delay
- Using approved LOPD combination therapy at home is safe, study finds