News

#RAREis Representation Program Promotes Equity, Diversity

Horizon Therapeutics has launched its #RAREis Representation program aimed at increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion among patients with rare diseases. There are about 400 million people worldwide living with a rare disease; for many of them, access to diagnosis, care, and treatments can be challenging. Accessing better care depends on…

Rare Disease Day Panel Opens Window to Patient Experience

Bionews, the publisher of this website, hosted a virtual panel discussion on Rare Disease Day 2022, taking a deeper dive into what it’s like to live with a rare disease, including conversations about advocacy, mental health, survivor’s guilt, treatment of minority patients, and more. The Monday event, “A…

Q&A With RARE-X Disease Data Platform Founder, Nicole Boice

The nonprofit RARE-X is creating an easily-accessible, centralized data hub for all rare disease patient data that can help researchers answer questions about existing disorders, discover new ones, and work toward finding treatments. It was spun out of the work that Nicole Boice, founder and chief engagement officer of…

Early Enriching Intervention Helps Restore Behaviors in Mouse Study

Early intervention with environmental stimulation appears to have restored motor coordination and behaviors in a mouse model of Angelman syndrome. The protocol was more successful in male mice than in females, suggesting that “slightly different therapeutic approaches may need to be taken with males and females undergoing treatment for [Angelman…

Supporters Poised for International Angelman Day on Feb. 15

International Angelman Day is Feb. 15 and, around the world, about 50 organizations and scores of supporters will come together to bring attention to the neurological disorder and the needs of the half-million individuals thought to be affected. Angelman syndrome (AS) is a complex genetic disease that can…

Rare Disease Day Events Bring Awareness, Equity to Patients

Since 2008, Rare Disease Day — the last day of February — has brought together patients, caregivers, family members, friends, and advocates from around the world to raise awareness and improve equity for the more than 7,000 known rare diseases that affect more than 300 million people. In 2022, the…