Treatments:  What options do Moebius patients have?

Unfortunately, there is not a great deal that can be done for those born with Moebius syndrome. Until the etiology of the disease is fully understood, all that can be done is to treat the individual symptoms. Strabismus (being cross-eyed) can be corrected with surgery, and some muscle transplant procedures might even be able to recover some abduction of the eyes. These surgeries occur in stages, though, so they are both time consuming and expensive.

A relatively new muscle transplant procedure takes small strips of muscle from the thigh of the patient and grafts it into the face, where it is innervated by a functioning nerve (normally the trigeminal - CN V) and then vascularized. Although this muscle transplant procedure does not restore normal function, it at least gives the Moebius patients the ability to smile. This simple act can provide substantial confidence and social interaction skills to the patient.

One non-invasive treatment method has been published, but it only works for those with facial weakness, not complete facial paralysis.  The treatment uses exercises of the facial muscles combined with electromyographic feedback to recover some function.

Special attention must be given to those Moebius syndrome patients with respiratory dysfunction. The treatments obviously depend upon the severity of the respiratory defect. Alleviation of minor respiratory problems should aid in treatment of those with sleep disorders as well, since respiratory dysfunction is often at the root of the sleep disorders in Moebius cases.

These are all treatments directed at the symptoms. If some injury during pregnancy proves to be the cause of Moebius syndrome, then the best treatment is to avoid the injury in the first place.  If the cause is genetic, perhaps some genetic screening can be performed early in pregnancy.

For further references and sources of information on Moebius syndrome, see the next page: More Info