Angelman Syndrome Program

Overview

The Angelman Syndrome Program at Mass General for Children, in partnership with the Angelman Syndrome Foundation, aims to provide comprehensive clinical care to individuals with Angelman syndrome. With the ultimate goal of improving quality of life for individuals with Angelman syndrome, the clinic provides “one-stop-shopping” access to a wide range of specialists who work together to evaluate and treat the most common problems encountered in Angelman syndrome.

The clinic includes specialists in epilepsy, sleep, gastroenterology and nutrition, neuropsychology, psychiatry and genetics.

The program offers a full range of diagnostic tests including inpatient electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring, as well as a broad range of treatment options including dietary therapy and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS).

The program also provides family support including guidance through transitions at age 18 and 22 and, if necessary, residential placement upon reaching adulthood. Other subspecialty referrals can be made to providers in adult medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and in the community as needed.

Between 2006 and the formal clinic opening in 2012, over 70 individuals with Angelman syndrome were seen at Mass General for Children, with an emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment of seizures. To date, over 300 families have been seen in the clinic from around the US as well as Africa, Canada, Europe and South America.