Caring for the Whole Patient

For someone who lives with mitochondrial disease, understanding the "big picture" is important.

Dr. Koenig will explore the importance of caring for the whole patient when managing mitochondrial disease. How does each organ system affect others when looking at the "whole" person? For example, can treating anemia improve sleep? Can appropriate management of epilepsy improve a child's ability to learn and attend school?

Naturally, the symptoms and issues related to one's mitochondrial disease diagnosis are not isolated to one part of the body, and consideration of the impact that these symptoms have on the "whole person" is important.

About the Speaker

Dr. Mary Kay Koenig, a pediatric neurologist at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital and assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child and Adolescent Neurology, at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.  Dr. Koenig is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society. She is a board member of the Houston chapter of the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.

Dr. Koenig's research interests are focused on mitochondrial disorders, neuro-metabolic disorders, autoimmune epilepsy, and neuro-genetic disorders.