Extremely Positive Results Announced from Interim Analysis of Phase 2 Clinical Trial for Hemochromatosis

Hereditary Hemochromatosis Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a rare disease caused by hepcidin deficiency or hepcidin insensitivity. Hepcidin naturally regulates iron absorption/distribution in the body. Without hepcidin, HH patients suffer from…

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Very First Patient Dosed with Investigational Therapy for Friedreich’s Ataxia in Phase 2 Clinical Trial

Friedreich's Ataxia Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is a rare disease which is caused by a frataxin deficiency. This deficiency results in the degeneration of nerves within the spinal cord. This nerve…

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“I Am My Own Best Asset”: Learning to Be Your Own Advocate When Living with a Rare Disease or Chronic Illness

The Danger of Stereotypes There is still a huge stereotype that women are prone to "hysteria." This leads to a general distrust in women's self-reported symptoms. Physicians consciously or unconsciously…

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“Stampede Scleroderma” Event for Systemic Sclerosis held at the Detroit Zoo Raised Over 130,000 Dollars for Research

Systemic Sclerosis Systemic Sclerosis (Systemic Scleroderma) is a rare disease which results in the hardening of the connective tissues in the body as well as the skin. It can affect…

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The PoppyPocket Helps Patients Wear Their Infusion Pumps More Comfortably, Safely, and Confidently

The PoppyPocket The PoppyPocket is a wearable pocket, created to make wearing infusion pumps and well as other medical devices easier, safer, and more comfortable. It comes with two pockets,…

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NuEyes: Using Virtual Reality to Improve Vision for Achromatopsia, Congenital Nystagmus & Macular Degeneration Patients

An Idea Sometimes life leads us down unexpected paths. Mark Greget founded a medical device distribution company. That was his plan. But after interacting with patients through his work, he…

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Chiari Malformation Patient Hasn’t Let 6 Brain Surgeries or a Stroke Stop Her from Continuing Medical School

The Beginning of the Journey Claudia Martinez is a medical student at UTHealth McGovern Medical School. Her dream is, and always has been, to be a doctor. But an unexpected…

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Wheelchair Bound Spina Bifida Patient Finishes Top 12 in National CrossFit Competition After One Year of Training

Sydney Mccallister is a 32-year-old woman diagnosed with spina bifida. Essentially, the condition means that the neural tube has not closed all the way during the first month of embryonic…

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Gene Therapy for 12 Rare Diseases will be Investigated Thanks to this Industry-Academia Partnership

Extended Collaboration  Amicus Therapeutics has just announced that they are expanding their collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine for the next five years. This collaboration is…

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Program Established by the NIH to Help Rare Disease Advocacy Groups Start Patient Registries

The Beginnings Anne Pariser worked for 16 years at the FDA. For part of that time, she was a team leader for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research where…

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The First Therapy in 15 Years has just Been Approved by the FDA for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma!

The FDA has just approved the very first therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in more than 15 years. It is the NovoTTF-100L System, developed by Novocure. Not only is…

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Cystic Fibrosis Patient’s Inspiring Speech to New Doctors Stresses The Importance of Patients as Partners

Gunnar Esiason, a 28-year-old cystic fibrosis (CF) patient, just delivered an inspirational pre-commencement speech to the 2019 St. Louis University School of Medicine graduating class. Quite frankly, it contains wisdom…

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Mouse Model Continues to Show Efficacy of GKT831 for Treating Cholestatic Fibrosis in Primary Biliary Cholangitis

Preclinical data supporting the efficacy of GKT831 as a potential therapy for cholestatic fibrosis has just been published in the Journal of Hepatology. GKT831 GKT831 is both a NOX1 enzyme and…

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The Cure Rare Disease Foundation is Trying to Change the “One Size Fits All” Approach Toward Treatment

The Cure Rare Disease Foundation The Cure Rare Disease Foundation's mission is to increase collaborative efforts between researchers in order to accelerate the development of customized therapies for individuals living with…

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A New Potential Drug Target for Inflammatory Diseases such as Ulcerative Colitis Discovered

Claudia Stäubert and her team of researchers at the University of Leipzig have just reported noteworthy findings which could impact the future treatment of inflammatory diseases. Lactic acid bacteria, or…

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A Nasal Spray Has Just Become the First New Therapy Approved by the FDA for Cluster Seizures in 20 Years

Cluster Seizures Approximately 1/3 of all epilepsy patients live with uncontrolled seizures. Of these, around 150,000 in the United States alone  experience cluster seizures (otherwise known as acute-repetitive seizures, crescendo…

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Each Ankylosing Spondylitis Patient is Unique, This Study Reinforces that to Provide the Best Care, We Must Understand That

A New AS Study A recent study, published in Reumatologia aimed to evaluate how ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients are coping with their condition on a psychological level. They wanted to investigate…

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To Know or Not to Know: Your Prerogative as Someone at Risk for Huntington’s Disease

Huntington's Disease Huntington's disease (HD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease. It progressively affects the patient's mobility and cognitive function. Unfortunately, a cure has yet to be discovered and the condition…

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Saturday Afternoon Live: Dr. Steven Treon’s Presentation at the 2019 IWMF Educational Forum June 8th will be Streamed Online!

The International Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia Foundation (IWMF) is a nonprofit organization founded by patients. Their mission? Support patients currently living with Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia (WM) while simultaneously supporting the search for a…

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