The role of rehabilitation in the management of late-onset Pompe disease: a narrative review of the level of evidence

Late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) is characterized by progressive muscle weakness, respiratory muscle dysfunction, and minor cardiac involvement. Although in LOPD, as in other neuromuscular diseases, controlled low impact sub-maximal aerobic exercise and functional ability exercise can improve general functioning and quality of life, as well as respiratory rehabilitation, the bulk of evidence on that is weak and guidelines are lacking. To date, there is no specific focus on rehabilitation issues in clinical recommendations for the care of patients with Pompe disease, and standard practice predominantly follows general recommendation guidelines for neuromuscular diseases. The Italian Association of Myology, the Italian Association of Pulmonologists, the Italian Society of Neurorehabilitation, and the Italian Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, have endorsed a project to formulate recommendations on practical, technical, and, whenever possible, disease-specific guidance on rehabilitation procedures in LOPD, with specific reference to the Italian scenario. In this first paper, we review available evidence on the role of rehabilitation in LOPD patients, particularly addressing the unmet needs in the management of motor and respiratory function for these patients.