parenting

Children with Pompe disease, like other children with special needs, may benefit from an individualized education plan (IEP; also called an individualized education program). What is an IEP? An IEP, authorized under the federal “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,” is a plan or program intended to…

Pompe disease is a rare disorder caused by mutations in a gene called GAA, which provides instructions for making an important enzyme called acid alpha-glucosidase (also known as acid maltase). This enzyme is responsible for breaking down a sugar molecule called glycogen to provide energy to…

Pompe disease is a rare genetic disease characterized by muscle weakness, among other symptoms. If you or your partner has Pompe disease, you may wonder whether the disease will also affect your future children. How is Pompe disease inherited? Pompe disease is inherited in a recessive pattern,…

Speech therapy is commonly used to help Pompe disease patients, especially those diagnosed with the infantile-onset form of the disease. These patients show symptoms such as difficulty breathing, swallowing, and speech articulation due to weakened facial muscles, an enlarged tongue with poor motor control, and…

A woman with late-onset Pompe disease went through two successful pregnancies and births while continuing treatment with Lumizyme (alglucosidase alfa), a case study reports. The woman, however, chose not to breastfeed the infants. The study, “Two successfully completed pregnancies in adult onset Pompe disease,…

On a Friday the 13th some 20 years ago, 15-month-old Megan Crowley was diagnosed with Pompe disease. A few weeks later, so was her newborn brother, Patrick. Even the doctor who diagnosed the two children didn’t know much about the disease. Before that March day in 1998, he had…