Children with AADC deficiency cannot walk, sit, or speak. It is a very rare brain disease, incurable so far. An unusual method to overcome it was developed by prof. Krzysztof Bankiewicz. The doctor has already operated on two children from Poland, and recently a small Spanish woman. More kids from all over Europe are waiting for the treatments. This is the only chance for them to recover.
AADC (L-Aromatic Amino Acid Decarboxylase Deficiency) is a very rare genetic disease. As a result of the gene damage, babies’ brains have trouble releasing dopamine and serotonin (neurotransmitters that regulate many functions and processes in the body). As a result, the proper development of children is disturbed – they cannot walk, sit, speak, and have a problem lifting their heads. It is estimated that around 130 children with AADC live worldwide. Two living in Poland – Ania and Kacper, have already been operated on by prof. Bankiewicz.
What is the AADC treatment method developed by prof. Bankiewicz? During the operation, the doctor implants the missing gene directly into the patient’s brain. The first such procedure was carried out by a Polish professor three years ago in the USA (he works at the University of California in San Francisco). “I developed this technology for treating Parkinson’s patients, and that’s how we started it almost 20 years ago. After further development of new versions of this technology, we decided to have the first surgery on children three years ago – says TVN24.
The effects were spectacular. The children operated in the USA recovered very quickly. – There was no way that they would sit, and they sit down, start to run, start to stand upright and start to walk, so this is simply a revolution – says Professor Jolanta Sykut-Cegielska from the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw.
Prof. Bankiewicz operated on two Polish children suffering from AADC – 13-year-old Kacper in February and XNUMX-year-old Ania in April. Even though only a few months have passed since the procedure, positive changes are already visible. As Kacper’s mother says, after three weeks the boy started to raise his head and tried to speak.
Raia, who flew to Warsaw from Spain, was recently operated on. The procedure was performed at the Bródno Hospital. It was such an unusual event that Professor Russell Lonser, President of the American Neurosurgical Society, came to see it. – There are very good conditions here, and besides, Krzysztof Bankiewicz is a pioneer of genetic and neurosurgical therapies – emphasized the scientist.
Comp. on the basis of fakty.tvn24.pl