[Free Full Text] Current Care and Investigational Therapies in Achondroplasia

Currently management of achondroplasia is limited to the treatment and prevention of complications related to this disease. However for some of these complications, such as foramen magnum compression and sudden infant death, the most severe complications, there isn't a widely accepted consent as to what course to take. 

This review identifies different options for the management of orthopedic, neurologic and respiratory complications. It also identifies some potential therapies currently under investigation.

The paper can be accessed through the following link:

Unger, S., L. Bonafé, and E. Gouze, Current Care and Investigational Therapies in Achondroplasia. Current Osteoporosis Reports, 2017. 15(2): p. 53-60.

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"Purpose of Review

The goal of this review is to evaluate the management options for achondroplasia, the most common non-lethal skeletal dysplasia. This disease is characterized by short stature and a variety of complications, some of which can be quite severe.

Despite several attempts to standardize care, there is still no widely accepted consensus. This is in part due to absence of concrete data on the incidence of sudden unexplained death in infants with achondroplasia and the best investigation for ascertaining which individuals could benefit from foramen magnum decompression surgery.

In this review, we identify the different options of care and management for the various orthopedic, neurologic, and respiratory complications. In parallel, several innovative or drug repositioning therapies are being investigated that would restore bone growth but may also prevent complications. Achondroplasia is the most common non-lethal skeletal dysplasia. It is characterized by short stature and a variety of complications, some of which can be quite severe. Despite several attempts to standardize care, there is still no widely accepted consensus. This is in part due to absence of concrete data on the incidence of sudden unexplained death in infants with achondroplasia and the best investigation for ascertaining which individuals could benefit from foramen magnum decompression surgery. In this review, we identify the different options of care and management for the various orthopedic, neurologic, and respiratory complications. In parallel, several innovative or drug repositioning therapies are being investigated that would restore bone growth but may also prevent complications."