Multiple myeloma is a blood cell cancer most often diagnosed in people after age 65. In the United States, the risk of multiple myeloma is highest among African-Americans and lowest ... Read More

The Associated Press reports that 14-year-old Aaron Evans died on September 17, 2007, from from infection with Naegleria fowleri. This parasite enters the body through the nose while the person ... Read More

On September 19, 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan status to recombinant parathyroid hormone for injection (PREOS, made by NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) for the treatment of ... Read More

The Third World Congress of Alpha1-Antitrypsin Deficiency Patients will be held on September 28-30, 2007, in Rome. This meeting is focused on individuals with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, so lectures cover ... Read More

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is an inherited genetic condition in which lack of the protein alpha-1 antitrypsin may cause lung and liver damage. Many individuals with the condition, however, never develop ... Read More

Researchers at The Children's Hospital in Denver and their colleagues conducted a Phase II study of nebulized denufosol as a treatment for cystic fibrosis, an exocrine disorder. They examined the ... Read More

Researchers have been using stem cell transplants as a way of treating scleroderma, a degenerative disease that causes thickening and swelling (edema) of the skin and scarring of the joints ... Read More

September 16-22, 2007, is Reye's Syndrome Awareness Week in the U.S. In the 1960s and 1970s, as many as 500 children in the United States per year were affected by ... Read More

The 3rd International Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs (ICORD 2007) will be held September 14-15 in Brussels. The overall aim of ICORD 2007 is to develop constructive international ... Read More

Researchers in France conducted a study comparing two ways of treating AL amyloidosis, is a disorder in which protein fibers are deposited in tissues and organs, harming them. The researchers ... Read More

September 10-16, 2007, is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week in the U.S. This week is designed as an outreach to increase awareness that living with an invisible illness can ... Read More

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, a genetic disorder, causes a deficiency of an enzyme called hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT). This leads to a toxic build-up of uric acid in the body, which affects ... Read More

Bioethicist Jonathan D. Moreno, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania’s highly respected Center for Bioethics, will present the opening address at the 2007 National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) Annual ... Read More

According to information from the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), Tim Coté, MD, MPH, assumed the position of Director of the Office of Orphan Products Development at the U.S. ... Read More

On August 30, 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Somatuline Depot (lanreotide injection, developed by Tercica) for the treatment of acromegaly, a disorder in which there is ... Read More

Don't let your Labor Day cookout send you to the hospital. Bad food handling habits can turn your favorite foods into sources of disease. Hotdogs can cause listeriosis and hamburgers ... Read More