Treatment for Cri du Chat Syndrome

There is no specific treatment currently available for this syndrome. However, gene therapy may help in the infant stages but this is not 100% effective. No techniques or methods have been developed until now to treat large chromosome abnormalities. Gene therapy addresses some of the effects due to the gene deletion. The development of a good technique may take several more years and will not be available in the immediate future.

Most of the associated medical problems can be treated with the available medical treatments successfully. Mental retardation must be treated without fail. It is recommended for the parents to attend a genetic counseling. The parents must undertake a karyotype test to check if one parent has a genetic rearrangement in chromosome 5.

Early intervention programs through several therapies or educational strategies have been planned to enhance the physical, intellectual, sensory and social development in the children. These must include physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and behavioral management when necessary. All these treatments according to surveys have been shown to improve the future stance of the child greatly.

These treatments are essential since most of the children affected with the syndrome undergo severe speech developmental problems. When the child is taught an alternative means for communication like a sign language, (eg. Makaton) in addition to a pictorial symbol system, this will improve the language acquisition and speech development. Cri Du chat
In most of the affected children, they are keenly interested in learning the communication and in fact, many can even develop their own language in the form of signs and gestures in order to get their requirements. In such cases, these children prefer to use their own language over the formal language taught by schools or doctors.

But some children may undergo a lot of frustration owing to their communication problems and this may lead to behavioral problems at times. Hence speech and language therapy is of significant importance and helps such children to develop their intellectual skills and improve the quality of their living greatly. In case, this is not possible at young ages, a communication device may be of tremendous help for older children and adults without adequate speech knowledge. (http://cri-du-chat-syndrome.blogspot.com/)
Apart from such programs, medical care attention is necessary for chronic problems like upper respiratory tract infections, severe constipation and otitis media. Visual-motor coordination computerized training can help in enhancing the visuospatial performance.

Surgical care is essential in the cases of congenital heart disease, temperature maintenance, anatomical abnormalities in airways, mental retardation, hypotonia, undescended testes, clubfoot, and strabismus. There is nothing like a special diet for such children. They may eat and drink everything like a normal person. Full-time care by parents may be necessary in children who are severely affected all through their lives in spite of the treatments.