What are the current treatment options, and what is the life expectancy with Rett syndrome?
A. No specific treatment exists for RTT, but multiple medical and surgical issues must be monitored. For these, treatment options are available, although the problems are not necessarily present in everyone with RTT. Nutrition must ensure adequate caloric intake, including gastrostomy feeding when oral intake is problematic. We have learned from studies in the 1990s that these girls have greater caloric requirements per kilogram body weight than the typically developing child. Improved recognition and management of gastroesophageal reflux, constipation and even gallbladder disease have been pivotal. Seizures require accurate diagnosis and appropriate intervention. Heightened anxiety can be treated. Scoliosis is a common problem that requires regular monitoring and surgical intervention in about 12 percent when the degree of curvature necessitates intervention. Q. What is the significance of the grant the Civitan International Research Center received from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Nat
