There are a number of potential treatments that are currently being tested or have just undergone testing including magnesium, etidronate, PPi, and tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase inhibitors.Given that ABCC6 heterozygous mutations result in few symptoms of PXE, this disease is a candidate for gene therapy. Some initial proof-of-principle experiments have been done in mice that have relieved some of symptoms of PXE, but as with all gene therapy treatments, there are many hurdles that must be over come including insuring that the treatment will be long-lasting and reducing the risk of insertional mutagenesis and severe immune reactions. Epidemiology
The reported prevalence of pseudoxanthoma elasticum is about 1:25,000. Females are twice as likely to be affected as males. The disease occurs in all ethnicities, but Afrikaners are more likely to have PXE as a result of a founder effect (i.e., higher prevalence in the small group of people from whom Afrikaners descend). History
The first description of PXE that distinguished it from other xanthoma conditions was by Dr Ferdinand-Jean Darrier in 1896. The eponym "Grönblad-Strandberg syndrome" is used in older literature, after two physicians who made further discoveries in the disease manifestations.PXE has the distinction of being the only disease for which a layperson is the discover of the mutated gene. The ABCC6 gene mutation was discovered simultaneously by four research teams, all of which published at the same time. The principal investigators were (in order of the date of publication): Jouni Uitto, Arthur Bergen, Charles Boyd, and Klaus Lindpainter.
Determining the best type of recovery program for an addicted person depends on a number of factors, including: personality, drugs of choice, concept of spirituality or religion, mental or physical illness, and local availability and affordability of programs. Many different ideas circulate regarding what is considered a successful outcome in the recovery from addiction. Programs that emphasize controlled drinking exist for alcohol addiction. Opiate replacement therapy has been a medical standard of treatment for opioid addiction for many years. Treatments and attitudes toward addiction vary widely among different countries. In the US and developing countries, the goal of commissioners of treatment for drug dependence is generally total abstinence from all drugs. Other countries, particularly in Europe, argue the aims of treatment for drug dependence are more complex, with treatment aims including reduction in use to the point that drug use no longer interferes with normal activities such as work and family commitments; shifting the addict away from more dangerous routes of drug administration such as injecting to safer routes such as oral administration; reduction in crime committed by drug addicts; and treatment of other comorbid conditions such as AIDS, hepatitis and mental health disorders. These kinds of outcomes can be achieved without eliminating drug use completely. Drug treatment programs in Europe often report more favorable outcomes than those in the US because the criteria for measuring success are functional rather than abstinence-based.