Jessica Lynn has an educational background in writing and marketing. She firmly believes in the power of writing in amplifying voices, and looks forward to doing so for the rare disease community.
Throughout his professional career, Marcus Stewart played in over 500 soccer games, scored more than 250 goals, and played at clubs including Ipswich Town, Sunderland, Bristol City, Exeter City, and…
Continue Reading
Soccer Player Marcus Stewart Shares Update on MND Diagnosis
[Source: pixabay.com]
Right now, there are only an estimated 10 people in Ireland who have been diagnosed with a form of mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) called Hurler syndrome. This is the…
Continue Reading
Help Twins Living with Hurler Syndrome!
https://unsplash.com/photos/vQj_hpDLcII
Nipah virus was first discovered in 1999 following an outbreak in people and pigs in Malayasia in Singapore. Since then, the zoonotic disease has spread, causing nearly annual outbreaks in…
Continue Reading
People in Bangladesh Warned Against Raw Date Juice to Protect from Nipah Virus
In the past, Katie Lockwood has worked in a variety of different roles within counseling and education; she even worked as a disability advocate, championing inclusion on a larger…
Continue Reading
Woman Creates Picture Book to Support Daughter with Moebius Syndrome
source: pixabay.com
The coronavirus pandemic has significantly altered not just the world we live in, but the way we engage within this new world. It has been difficult and isolating to…
Continue Reading
Woman with CVID Pays $2,466 for Evusheld
source: pixabay.com
High-risk neuroblastoma can be difficult to treat in children. Some research suggests that between 40-50% of children with high-risk neuroblastoma relapse following treatment, causing poor outcomes. When Flora Gentleman was…
Continue Reading
A Special Treatment Helped a Girl with Neuroblastoma
source: pixabay.com
When Charlotte Harris was born, she seemed - for all intents and purposes - to be a healthy infant. But her mother Melissa became concerned about a potential health issue…
Continue Reading
Family Shares Daughter’s LCH Experience
Source: Pixabay.com
Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by intense and debilitating chronic pain affecting one side of the face. Currently, there are a number of treatment options to reduce pain: tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants,…
Continue Reading
Microvascular Decompression Could Offer Trigeminal Neuralgia Relief
Source: Pixabay
It has historically been difficult to encourage the development of therapies for patients with rare diseases. To overcome this, the Orphan Drug Act was passed in 1983. This act…
Continue Reading
ICYMI: AUM302 Granted Orphan Drug Designation for Neuroblastoma
https://pixabay.com/en/american-football-football-sports-1666276/
On January 7th, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans faced off on the football field. With just 2:51 left in the game, Josh Allen returned a fumble for a touchdown,…
Continue Reading
Girl with Neuroblastoma Honored at Jacksonville Jaguars Game
Source: Pixabay
25-year-old Maia Stock was excited at the chance to get away from snowy Canada and bask in the warmth of the Puerto Vallarta sun—relaxing at the resort, swimming in the…
Continue Reading
Woman Warns Others about Necrotizing Fasciitis After Contracting it on Vacation
https://pixabay.com/en/nerve-cell-neuron-brain-neurons-2213009/
Have you ever heard of Orphan Drug designation? This designation is granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to drugs or biologics intended to diagnose, prevent, or…
Continue Reading
Azeliragon for Glioblastoma Earns Orphan Drug Designation
Lucy Beall's parents were expecting a fairly normal and straightforward birth. But when Lucy was born, the entire room was shocked. She weighed just six pounds and her skin…
Continue Reading
Model with Epidermolysis Bullosa Champions Self-Love and Body Positivity
source: pixabay.com
2019 was an extremely difficult year for Jay Crow. In February of that year, Crow lost his mother Megan, who was just 33 years old, to heart failure. Just…
Continue Reading
Teen Athlete Shares Long QT Syndrome Journey
Found on: Unsplash
Prematurity and formula-feeding heighten the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a serious gastrointestinal issue. However, NEC is still poorly understood; in many cases, the exact cause is still unknown.…
Continue Reading
CZI Granted $1M to UNC Researchers to Study Necrotizing Enterocolitis
https://pixabay.com/en/dollar-currency-money-us-dollar-499481/
Doddie Aid, which begins January 1st and continues for the following six weeks, aims to encourage people to get active while raising funds to support research into motor neuron disease…
Continue Reading
2023 Doddie Aid Event Raises Over £1M for MND/ALS
Have you ever heard of a natural history study? In short, a natural history study studies people who have, or are at risk of developing, a specific medical condition;…
Continue Reading
Phoenix Nest Launches Natural History Study of Sanfilippo Syndrome
There is no cure for multiple sclerosis (MS). However, treatment advances have helped people to live longer, happier lives. Current therapeutic options include corticosteroids, plasmapheresis, and disease-modifying drugs. Recently,…
Continue Reading
BRIUMVI Now Approved for Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis
source: pixabay.com
In 2020, the U.S. FDA granted Orphan Drug designation to KB407, an investigational gene therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). More recently, at the start of 2023, the…
Continue Reading
KB407 for Cystic Fibrosis Granted Orphan Status in Europe
Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash
Seven years ago, David and Amber Negele married. The pair couldn’t wait to begin their blissful wedded life together. Just a few years after their marriage, David and Amber decided…
Continue Reading
Michigan Family Shares Son’s Experience with Sanfilippo Syndrome
source: pixabay.com
From November 10-14, 2022, various stakeholders within the rheumatology sphere connected at the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) Convergence 2022. During ACR Convergence, described as the world’s premier rheumatology experience,…
Continue Reading
Informing Treatment Decisions for Psoriatic Arthritis: A Discussion with Dr. Soumya Chakravarty
source: pixabay.com
A January 2023 news release from biopharmaceutical company Avidity Biosciences, Inc. ("Avidity") shares that the company's therapy, AOC 1020, earned Fast Track designation from the FDA for the treatment of…
Continue Reading
AOC 1020 Granted Fast Track Designation for FSHD
source: pixabay.com
Currently, the standards-of-care for lupus include anti-malarial drugs such as hydroxychloroquine, corticosteroids and immune-suppressive therapies, and biologics such as Benlysta. But new therapies are urgently needed, especially as anywhere between…
Continue Reading
Balancing CXCL5 Levels Could Potentially Treat Lupus
Photo courtesy of Jennifer
Before you read on, make sure to check out Part 1 of Jennifer's story. In Part 1, we discuss what multiple sclerosis is, its symptoms, treatment options, and Jennifer's journey from diagnosis…
Continue Reading
Marathons, Mindfulness, and Multiple Sclerosis: How Jennifer Found Balance (and Challenge!) through her Diagnosis (Pt. 2)
The Rogers, Minnesota hockey community is strong and unified; if something happens to someone in their ranks, they step up to assist. But nothing could have prepared them for the…
Continue Reading
Hockey Community Fundraises After Multiple Families Touched by Sarcoma