Treatment Strategies For Krabbe Disease

Krabbe disease is a genetic disorder that destroys the body's myelin, which is the protective coating that shields the nervous system's cells, including cells in the spinal cord and brain. Most children with Krabbe disease begin showing symptoms before they're six months old, and the child usually dies by two years old. When symptoms develop in adults and older children, there's a much more varied progression of symptoms. Krabbe disease doesn't have a cure, so treatments focus on supportive care. There have been some cases where stem cell transplants were successful in babies who hadn't yet shown symptoms. Krabbe disease occurs in about one out of every 100,000 individuals in the United States.