What are treatment options for ALD?
What are treatment options for ALD?
ALD has no cure at this time. Treatment focuses on slowing the disease’s progression and improving symptoms.
Treatment options depend on the type of ALD and symptoms. Treatments include:
- Adrenal hormone treatment: People with ALD need regular adrenal function testing. Corticosteroid replacement therapy can help treat adrenal insufficiency.
- Stem cell transplant: Transplant is the only treatment that can slow the progression of ALD in children. If doctors diagnose ALD early enough, a transplant may stop the disease. Providers may recommend a stem cell transplant when an MRI shows evidence that ALD affects the brain, but the child does not show obvious symptoms during a neurological exam.
- Medications: Providers can prescribe medications to help with symptoms such as seizures or muscle stiffness.
Other supportive treatments include:
- Physical therapy.
- Psychological support.
- Special education.
Investigational therapies include:
- Gene therapy can replace the defective gene with a typically functioning gene.
- Lorenzo’s oil, a mixture of oleic acid and erucic acid, may lower blood levels of VLCFA. The therapy may delay or slow symptoms when given to children before they have symptoms.