Child dementia drug could save terminally ill nine-year-old female patient

Child dementia: Help for terminally ill nine-year-olds requested
Nine-year-old Hannah from Bad Tölz in Bavaria is terminally ill, she suffers from childhood dementia. A new drug from the US that has not yet been approved could possibly save her. But the manufacturer does not want to give it out yet. The parents are now asking for support for a petition on the internet.

Nine-year-old girl from Bavaria is terminally ill
A nine year old girl from Bad Tölz (Bavaria) is terminally ill: Hannah suffers from a disease called Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis Type 2 (NCL2), also called childhood dementia. It is a brain destruction disease that begins in childhood or adolescence. According to the NCL group Germany, about one in 30,000 children is affected. In the beginning, patients increasingly lose their eyesight, leading to later blindness. It comes to mental breakdown, movement disorders, hallucinations, epileptic seizures and dementia. In the course of the disease, patients become completely helpless, they die early.

Image: Gina Sanders / fotolia

Drug from US drug companies could help
The parents of little Hannah still have hope and turn to the public. On their website, they ask for support for a petition aimed at a pharmaceutical company in the US. Under the headline "Please help our daughter Hannah to live!" They report on the drug BMN 190 "Cerliponase Alfa", which was developed by the US company BioMarin. According to the information, it is currently being tested in a worldwide study. It is said that the health of the children who received the medicine so far has not worsened or even improved.

Parents ask public for help
However, as the parents report, the study is now "closed," which means that Hannah can not be treated. An approval of this drug is expected in two to three years. "That's too late for Hannah! It can lose your life until then. "Since the company is not yet ready to provide the drug as part of an individual healing attempt, the parents are looking for supporters. Your petition should help that the pharmaceutical company releases the funds. According to media reports, over 200,000 people have already signed. The petition continues. "Every single signature increases the chance that BioMarin will help us!"

Senile dementia will rise sharply
In contrast to childhood dementia senile dementia is widespread in this country. According to the German Alzheimer's Association, around 1.5 million people in Germany already suffer from dementia. The number of patients could be estimated to double by 2050, unless a breakthrough in therapy succeeds. Health experts assume that one day an effective therapy will be available, but it is unclear when. Therefore, it is always recommended to use existing options for prevention and treatment. For example, it is known that the treatment of diabetes and hypertension reduces the risk of developing dementia. (Ad)