There’s an interesting article in Scientific American about a new trial for Rheumatoid Arthritis. The treatment involves a small pacemaker-like device that delivers tiny electrical shocks to the vagus nerve, a nerve that runs down the neck from the brainstem to several major organs, including the heart and gut.
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Archives for May 2017
SJIA Foundation stands with other patient organizations in opposing the American Health Care Act
The US House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act yesterday, May the 5th, 2017. If this bill becomes law, it will impact the health care of millions of Americans. It will be especially hard on children and adults with rare diseases, including children living with Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (SJIA).
The Systemic JIA Foundation joins numerous other patient groups in opposing this legislation. This law could have disastrous consequences for children living with SJIA and other Autoinflammatory Diseases, who depend on expensive medications to keep the disease under control. Some of the potential impacts of the AHCA are:
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How patient communities and venture philanthropy can drive the development of treatments
Eric Hoffman gave a great talk on how the community around Duchenes Muscular Dystrophy has driven research into treatments. This talk was very inspiring and touching, especially given the context of the first treatments for DMD recently being approved by the FDA.
Eric is the founder and CEO of Reveragen, which is developing Vamorolone, a replacement for conventional steroids. It is targeted at DMD but is also a potential treatment for SJIA. The drug was recently fast-tracked by the FDA.
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