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In recognition of Rare Disease Day Feb. 29, Bionews Services launched a social media campaign last month asking patients to describe what makes them rare. Running Feb. 7–29, the #WhatMakesMeRare campaign was aimed at uplifting people with rare diseases by encouraging them to share their stories and perspectives. The…

Beginning on Feb. 29, Rare Disease Day, chapters from notable scientific books and clinical review articles covering rare disorders will be available free-of-charge from Elsevier. The offer runs through April 30, and aims to supports work by researchers and clinicians into a better understanding of and treatments for rare diseases, as well…

Starting a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit isn’t easy, but the National Organization for Rare Disorders gave a few tips for those  looking to begin the complex process in its Feb. 20 webinar.  William Whitman…

An abundance of events are afoot around the world to mark Rare Disease Day 2020 on Feb. 29. The activities are focused on heightening awareness about rare diseases and the hundreds of millions of individuals they are thought to affect. Patients, caregivers, and advocates worldwide will sport denim ribbons…

The Ehlers-Danlos Society is accepting applications for its spring 2020 research grant program. Grants will support research in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD). Through its Spring 2020 Microgrants program, the society will award about nine grants of up to $5,000 each. These grants are generally…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a vast government bureaucracy, employs about 17,500 people and had a budget of $5.7 billion in 2019. Yet even with its enormous resources, the FDA these days relies more and more on patients to…

The gleaming new Dutch headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), fronting Domenico Scarlattilaan in Amsterdam’s suburban Zuidas business district, finally opened for business last month — just over two years after the European Union decided to relocate the EMA to the Netherlands in the wake of Brexit.

To discuss the latest information about Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and related disorders, patients and their families, scientists, and clinicians will convene in Paris from March 21-22 for the first European Learning Conference. Presented by the Ehlers-Danlos Society, and held at the Hotel Mercure Paris Orly Rungis,…

Patients with mutations in either the COL1A1 or COL1A2 genes, which provide instructions for making a specific collagen protein, may show symptoms of both Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), a retrospective study shows. Researchers propose that this overlap is a missing EDS type. The study ”…

Women with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome have a smaller cortical bone — the outer part of the bone, essential for its resistance and strength — and for that reason are likely more prone to fractures, a study suggests. The findings were reported in “Higher fracture prevalence and smaller…