1,721,315 research outputs found
Physiotherapeutic management of patients with SMA: A questionnaire-based online survey among physiotherapists within the SMArtCARE network
Background and objectives: Disease-modifying treatments (DMT) have dramatically changed phenotypes in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Because publications regarding standards of care were published before DMTs emerged, detailed recommendations and guidelines for physiotherapeutic management are still lacking. The objective of this study was to map the physiotherapeutic management of patients with SMA within the SMArtCARE network, a disease-specific registry for patients with 5q-SMA with 83 participating centers in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Methods: An online survey using a modified Delphi approach was conducted among physiotherapists with two questionnaire rounds between June 2022 and June 2023. Seven physiotherapeutic experts developed and revised the questionnaires focusing on the main topics of stretching, positioning, mobility and exercise, and chest physiotherapy. The second questionnaire was based on eight different case studies. Results: The second questionnaire was sent to 148 participants with a response rate of 28%. Most of the physiotherapists were well experienced in treating SMA patients. There was a strong consensus that home-based stretching should be used in pediatric patients with contractures regardless of their motor function. Muscle strengthening training was considered to be essential for all sitters and for walkers with moderate motor function restriction by a strong consensus. For all patients with respiratory involvement there was a consensus for prophylactic respiratory therapy. Conclusion: Our results describe the current physiotherapeutic management and recommendations within the SMArtCARE network. These findings highlight the need for an individualized approach, and the necessity of developing and adjusting existing guidelines
Treatment with Nusinersen – Challenges Regarding the Indication for Children with SMA Type 1
Clinical and Genetic Aspects of Juvenile Onset Pompe Disease
Abstract Little is known about clinical symptomatology and genetics of juvenile onset Pompe disease (JOPD). The aims of this study were to analyze how these children are diagnosed, what clinical problems they have, and how phenotype is related to genotype. To accomplish this, we analyzed retrospectively data of 34 patients diagnosed after their first and before completion of their 18th birthday. Median age at diagnosis was 3.9 (range 1.1–17) years. Eight patients (23.5%) developed initial symptoms in the first year, 12 (35%) between 1 and 7 years, and 6 (18%) thereafter. Eight (23.5%) had no clinical symptoms at the time of diagnosis. Indications for diagnostics were a positive family history in three (9%), hyperCKemia in eight (23.5%), motor developmental delay in three (9%), and muscle weakness and/or pain in 17 (50%). Rare clinical signs were failure to thrive, recurrent diarrhea, and suspected hepatopathy with glycogen storage. Thirty-two different mutations were identified. Twenty-seven patients (79.5%) carried the milder c.32–13T > G mutation, known to be associated with a broad range of phenotypes. Three out of eight patients manifesting within the first year of life showed generalized muscle weakness, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and had to be ventilated during the course of disease, thereby demonstrating clinical overlap with infantile onset Pompe disease. These findings demonstrate that the phenotype of JOPD is broad and that the differential is not only restricted to neuromuscular disorders. Genotypic analysis was useful to delineate subjects with early onset JOPD from those with IOPD, but overall genotype–phenotype correlation was poor.Abstract Little is known about clinical symptomatology and genetics of juvenile onset Pompe disease (JOPD). The aims of this study were to analyze how these children are diagnosed, what clinical problems they have, and how phenotype is related to genotype. To accomplish this, we analyzed retrospectively data of 34 patients diagnosed after their first and before completion of their 18th birthday. Median age at diagnosis was 3.9 (range 1.1–17) years. Eight patients (23.5%) developed initial symptoms in the first year, 12 (35%) between 1 and 7 years, and 6 (18%) thereafter. Eight (23.5%) had no clinical symptoms at the time of diagnosis. Indications for diagnostics were a positive family history in three (9%), hyperCKemia in eight (23.5%), motor developmental delay in three (9%), and muscle weakness and/or pain in 17 (50%). Rare clinical signs were failure to thrive, recurrent diarrhea, and suspected hepatopathy with glycogen storage. Thirty-two different mutations were identified. Twenty-seven patients (79.5%) carried the milder c.32–13T > G mutation, known to be associated with a broad range of phenotypes. Three out of eight patients manifesting within the first year of life showed generalized muscle weakness, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and had to be ventilated during the course of disease, thereby demonstrating clinical overlap with infantile onset Pompe disease. These findings demonstrate that the phenotype of JOPD is broad and that the differential is not only restricted to neuromuscular disorders. Genotypic analysis was useful to delineate subjects with early onset JOPD from those with IOPD, but overall genotype–phenotype correlation was poor
A new phenotype combining progeria and congenital myopathy caused by a de novo mutation of lamin A/C
Improvements in Walking Distance during Nusinersen Treatment – A Prospective 3-year SMArtCARE Registry Study
Background and objectives: Disease progression in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has changed dramatically within the past years due to the approval of three different disease-modifying treatments. Nusinersen was the first drug to be approved for the treatment of SMA patients. Clinical trials provided data from infants with SMA type 1 and children with SMA type 2, but there is still insufficient evidence and only scarcely reported long-term experience for nusinersen treatment in ambulant patients. Here, we report data from the SMArtCARE registry of ambulant patients under nusinersen treatment with a follow-up period of up to 38 months. Methods: SMArtCARE is a disease-specific registry in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Data are collected as real-world data during routine patient visits. Our analysis included all patients under treatment with nusinersen able to walk independently before start of treatment with focus on changes in motor function. Results: Data from 231 ambulant patients were included in the analysis. During the observation period, 31 pediatric walkers (27.2%) and 31 adult walkers (26.5%) experienced a clinically meaningful improvement of≥30 m in the 6-Minute-Walk-Test. In contrast, only five adult walkers (7.7%) showed a decline in walking distance≥30 m, and two pediatric walkers (1.8%) lost the ability to walk unassisted under treatment with nusinersen. HFMSE and RULM scores improved in pediatric and remained stable in adult patients. Conclusion: Our data demonstrate a positive effect of nusinersen treatment in most ambulant pediatric and adult SMA patients. We not only observed a stabilization of disease progression or lack of deterioration, but clinically meaningful improvements in walking distance
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