Using both CRISPR-Cas9 and base editor 3 (BE3) gene-editing tools, the team reduced cholesterol levels in healthy mice treated in utero by targeting a gene that regulates those levels. Also used prenatal gene editing to improve liver function and prevent neonatal death in a subgroup of mice that had been engineered with a mutation causing the lethal liver disease hereditary tyrosinemia type 1 (HT1).

In a study at seven hospitals across the UK and the USA, researchers found the brain scan, called magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy. Brain damage affects around one in 300 births in the UK, and is usually caused by oxygen deprivation.

Since it can take 5 to 7 years for a patient with a rare disease to receive an accurate diagnosis—which can be the gateway to appropriate treatments and access to life-saving clinical trials—a panel at this year’s National Organization of Rare Diseases’ Rare Diseases & Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit (NORD Summit) held in Washington, DC, delved into specific associated challenges and how providers might overcome them.

Researchers from The Rockefeller University recently uncovered the molecular mechanism which causes individuals with a rare skin condition to be susceptible to human papillomavirus (HPV).

Senator Hatch and Representatives Lance and Butterfield introduced a resolution that heralds the success of the Orphan Drug Act (ODA) and calls for continued support of the legislation.

This year marks the 35th anniversary for the ODA. That means 35 years of increased hope and treatments for the rare disease community. Prior to the ODA, there were only 34 therapies indicated to treat a rare disease. Now, there are over 700 and counting!

A university of Houston pharmaceutical scientist is developing a drug which could bring relief to children suffering with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP), a rare genetic disorder characterized by hundreds if not thousands of colorectal polyps. This hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome occurs in 3 per 100000 live births and, if left untreated, causes colorectal cancer in patients nearly 100 percent of the time. Prior medication for the diseases failed because it increased the risk of heart attacks and death.

ICORD is an International Society for all individuals actively involved in rare diseases and/or orphan drugs, including health care, research, academic, industry, patient organisations, regulatory authorities, health authorities, and public policy professionals. The mission of ICORD is to improve the welfare of patients with rare diseases and their families world-wide through better knowledge, research, care, information, education and awareness. One of the main activities of ICORD is the organisation of the ICORD annual meetings, which have been successfully arranged ten times all over the world.

A 6-year-old girl named Kamiyah who every day experiences several spell where her entire body freezes up – her lungs, her muscles, everything.

With Kamiyah, we’re not necessarily looking for a diagnosis, as NIH ( National Inistitute of Health) has identified the gene mutation causing these spells. We’re trying to help Kamiyah and her family find more people with this condition, so they can learn about it and potentially find some relief.

Background: The circadian rhythm regulation plays a crucial role in people`s healthy lives affected by factors consisting of cosmic events related to the universe and earth, environmental factors (light, night and day duration, seasons) and lifestyles. These factors changes lead to disturbance of circadian rhythm and it causes increasing the incidence of mental diseases like depression and physiological problems like cancers, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.