Gene discovery set to help with mysterious paralysis of childhood
Sunday, July 29, 2012 - 15:00
in Health & Medicine
Alternating hemiplegia of childhood is a very rare disorder that causes paralysis that freezes one side of the body and then the other in devastating bouts that arise at unpredictable intervals. Seizures, learning disabilities and difficulty walking are common among patients with this diagnosis. Researchers have now discovered that mutations in one gene cause the disease in the majority of patients with a diagnosis of AHC, and because of the root problem they discovered, a treatment may become possible.