Feb 11, 2009 4:45 pm US/Eastern
Drug Gives Hope For Babies Suffering From Seizures
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
The parents of some sick children may be getting the best possible news. The FDA may be getting ready to approve a drug that controls seizures. And if it does, parents also stand to save a lot of money.
Jacob Ramos, 4, started suffering seizures when he was just 6-months old. "Really scary," said Tatiana Ramos, Jacob's mom. "He was shaking…his muscles would tighten. It was almost like he wasn't breathing."
Most children who develop infantile spasms end up with severe retardation and neurological impairments, but Jacob was fortunate. Doctors put him on a drug called Sabriel and his seizures stopped.
The drug has been available for several years in other countries, but is not approved in the U.S., so parents like Tatiana have to pay hundreds of dollars every year out of their own pockets. "The medication helped a lot, but it was a burden on my financial status," she said. "But we managed to buy it."
Many of the children who could benefit from it didn't have the opportunity because there weren't the funds to pay for it.
An FDA Advisory Panel recommended the drug for approval last month. The FDA has not made its final decision yet, but they usually follow the panel's lead, which means it may just be a matter of time.
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