late-onset Pompe disease

Last week, we had our last home infusion for the summer. It was a bittersweet moment for sure. My 4-year-old son, Cayden, has been getting weekly Lumizyme (alglucosidase alfa) infusions from the same nurse at our home since he was about 18 months old. The infusions are necessary because…

Age and the use of an assistive device like a walker may tell how well a patient with late-onset Pompe disease will do in a six-minute walk test (6MWT), a small study suggests. The 6MWT is considered a gold standard for determining, through difficulties in walking, the severity of…

The levels of BNIP3, a protein implicated in muscle fiber atrophy and increased autophagy — two features of late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) — are increased in muscle samples from LOPD patients relative to healthy people, a small study shows. Autophagy is a pathway by which cells break down damaged…

Pain is relevant but appears to be unrelated to damage to small nerve fibers in the skin of late-onset Pompe disease patients who are using enzyme replacement therapy, a study found. The study, “Small fiber involvement is independent from clinical pain in late-onset Pompe disease,” was published in…

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…

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,…

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…

The investigational gene therapy ACT-101 overall was well-tolerated among three people with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) who were treated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. Moreover, the trial results also showed that treatment markedly increased levels of the GAA enzyme — deficient in Pompe disease — in the patients’ muscle…

Last week, we again had to take my son, Cayden, on the dreaded 2.5-hour drive to Philadelphia. We usually make this trip to see all of Cayden’s specialists, but this time we went to the dentist. Plenty of pediatric dental offices are in our area, but none are very…

Infection by the virus that causes COVID-19 led to mild-to-moderate symptoms in four people with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) and pulmonary involvement, despite the increased risk of severe complications in such cases, scientists reported. “COVID-19 infection can result in a benign course in some patients with LOPD. However, individuals with LOPD…