explore -WSS

explore

author：entertainment 2025-09-30 16:24:02 - browse：473

Nathan Guo, left, and his wife Ada Lio encourage their 17-month-old son, Lucas Guo, to take steps in his gate trainer at their home in Somerville, MA on February 16, 2024. Lucas has one of the world's rarest diseases, ZTTK Syndrome — Lucas Guo, a boy with a rare neurological condition called ZTTK, is encouraged by his father, Nathan Guo, and mother, Ada Lio, to take some steps. Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe

SOMERVILLE — At 19 months old, Lucas Guo has never crawled, walked, or stood by himself. He babbles but can’t say words. He struggles to chew and swallow. He gets most of his nutrition through a feeding tube attached to his belly.

Lucas has one of the world’s rarest diseases, ZTTK syndrome, a complex neurological disorder caused by a genetic mutation. Scientists have documented only about 60 cases worldwide and estimate that, at most, it afflicts several hundred people — far too few to encourage drug makers to find a treatment.

That economic reality has driven Lucas’s parents, Ada Lio and Nathan Guo, to take things into their own hands. Working through a small foundation, they are trying to raise $10 million to develop a treatment or cure for ZTTK in five years.

Get unlimited access to award-winning journalism and exclusive events.

Subscribe Log In

Previous article： In age of alternative facts, a scholarly course on calling out crap
Next article： Driven by the pandemic, applicants flood public health schools

WSS

Wife of Gilgo Beach murder suspect files for divorce, court filing shows

Cano Health’s bankruptcy is a warning for Medicare Advantage

Readout Newsletter: Amgen, Regeneron, BGI Group and more

Tesla recalling nearly 16,000 of its 2021

Readout LOUD: Venture capital, Gilead, and more M&A

Awakening the world to the whoosh: A patient's crusade

explore

explore

hotspot

Tori Bowie and the unacceptable rates of Black maternal death

AI gets buy

George Santos makes 1st court appearance after pleading not guilty to 13 counts

Senate committee advances SCOTUS ethics bill after alleged justice misconduct

Tori Bowie and the unacceptable rates of Black maternal death

Awakening the world to the whoosh: A patient's crusade

At least 13 dead in Texas as scorching temps continue

Cano Health’s bankruptcy is a warning for Medicare Advantage

23andMe had bad news about my health. I wish a person had delivered it

Wife of Gilgo Beach murder suspect files for divorce, court filing shows

leisure time

Judge rejects Trump's request to move Stormy Daniels hush

Readout LOUD: Venture capital, Gilead, and more M&A

Texas Department of Public Safety speaks out on migrant abuse allegations

Mass General totes up its waste in a move to tackle climate change

Judge rejects Trump's request to move Stormy Daniels hush

Vyjuvek, a gene therapy for skin wounds, restored vision in one boy

leisure time

hotspot

focus

hotspot