International MPS Awareness Day

Until I started teaching in my current district 5 years ago I had never heard of MPS. Now, I have been given the privilege of teaching another student diagnosed with disease. Last year I did a post about MPS to give some basic information regarding the disease  Since then I have learned new information and found some new sites that can share great information. 

• MPS stands for Mucopolysaccharidoses. 

• MPS is a genetic lysosomal storage disease (LSD) caused by the body's inability to produce specific enzymes.(From the MPS Society Website)

• Affected individuals may have mental retardation, cloudy corneas, short stature, stiff joints, incontinence, speech and hearing impairment, chronic runny nose, hernia, heart disease, hyperactivity, depression, pain and a dramatically shortened life span.(From the MPS Society Website)

• MPS and related diseases are hereditary. (From the MPS Society Website)

• There is currently no cure for MPS or related diseases, research is making great strides. (From the MPS Society Website)