News

A Russian military plane crash near Tetiana Zamorska’s home in Kyiv, Ukraine, was a sign that it was time for her and her family to leave. The treacherous, 34-hour pilgrimage that ultimately brought the group of eight by car to temporary accommodations in neighboring Poland last month was physically and emotionally difficult,…

The six-minute walk distance (6MWD) test is a reliable measure of declines in motor abilities in people with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD), a two-year study that evaluated a series of such tests reported. Other common measures of motor function and muscle strength failed to reliably detect such changes in…

The European Commission is expected to propose a new governing framework for health data next month, called the European Health Data Space (EHDS), with the aim of connecting national health systems to facilitate secure and efficient transfer of data across systems in different European nations. The move is expected to…

Macroglossia, or an abnormally enlarged tongue, caused difficulty swallowing, speech abnormalities, and reduced breathing during sleep for five people with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD), according to a recent French study. Treatment with enzyme-replacement therapy (ERT), a standard of care for Pompe patients, did not alleviate the debilitating symptoms,…

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) has updated its State Report Card to make it more digitally friendly and added telehealth to its categories of rare disease policy issues in a nod to its increased use during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. NORD’s report card project began seven…

The 9th annual International Pompe Day will be celebrated on April 15 to raise global awareness of Pompe disease and highlight the strength and resilience of the patient community. The event, with the slogan “Together We are Strong,” is organized by the International Pompe Association (IPA) — a…

Infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, led to mild symptoms and no hospitalizations in people diagnosed with Pompe disease, a small Dutch study reports. However, since the patients had mild disease and were relatively young, more study is needed to assess outcomes in this population, the researchers…

An intervention involving whole body vibration therapy showed promise for improving movement ability and muscle composition in a small study involving three children with non-classic infantile-onset Pompe disease. The study, “Vibration assisted rehabilitation in patients with Pompe disease: A case series,” was published in the…

Healthcare providers involved in diagnosing and treating rare diseases believe that increased physician education and collaboration with specialized facilities will have the greatest positive impact on treating these conditions over the next five years, according to results from a 2021 survey. Definitive Healthcare, a healthcare commercial intelligence company, conducted…

A program of supervised resistance exercise can improve muscle function — including in muscles needed to breathe — for adults with late onset Pompe disease (LOPD), a small study suggests. “Our findings encourage use of supervised exercise and inspiratory muscle training for improving physical function and health to improve…