Hempel Family Fights "Childhood Alzheimer's"

A few months ago, I blogged about a little boy in the UK with Neimann-Pick Disease-Type C (NPC), a rare genetic disorder that creates symptoms in children that resemble Alzheimer's disease. NPC reduces the body's ability to break down cholesterol and lipids, resulting in a buildup of fatty lipids in the spleen, liver, and brain.

NPC is fatal, with most children dying before they reach the age of 20.

When a family is faced with such a horrific illness, it's hard to imagine how that family might respond. In the case of the Hempels, the family chose to fight.

When Chris (mom) and Hugh (dad) Hempel found out that their identical twins, Addi and Cassi, had NPC, they formed the Addi and Cassi Fund to increase awareness about NPC and raise money to find a cure. Their website is fantastic and includes information about NPC, research updates, a blog, and opportunities to get involved in the fight to end this Alzheimer's-like condition.

Be sure to watch the videos, which include a challenge to our presidential candidates to address the rising incidence of neurodegenerative disorders in the US, the Hempels' story featured on Good Morning America, and clips from the first annual NPC benefit gala held in Reno. The video of Melinda Doolittle singing "Be Blessed" -- which shows real children fighting NPC and remembers those that have died from it -- left me in tears.

I encourage you to visit the Hempels' website (www.addiandcassi.com), learn more about this devastating illness, and remember that Alzheimer's-like diseases affect people of all ages.

Photo of Cells Affected by Niemann-Pick Disease © A.D.A.M.