Stories about: rare disease

Patients’ brain tissue unlocks the cellular hideout of Sturge-Weber’s gene mutation

Posted on March 1, 2017March 30, 2017 by Kat J. McAlpine

Posted in Science

More On: blood vessels, Brain, brain MRI, brain research, epilepsy, genes, hemispherectomy, neurology, neurosurgery, rare disease, Rare Disease Day, rare diseases, seizures, skin, somatic mutations, Sturge-Weber, Vascular Biology Program

A diagram of the skull and brain showing the leptomeninges, which is affected by Sturge-Weber syndrome — Sturge-Weber syndrome causes capillary malformations in the brain. They occur in the brain’s leptomeninges, which comprise the arachnoid mater and pia mater.

A person born with a port-wine birthmark on his or her face and eyelid(s) has an 8 to 15 percent chance of being diagnosed with Sturge-Weber syndrome. The rare disorder causes malformations in certain regions of the body’s capillaries (small blood vessels). Port-wine birthmarks appear on areas of the face affected by these capillary malformations.

Aside from the visible symptoms of Sturge-Weber, there are also some more subtle and worrisome ones. Sturge-Weber syndrome can be detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Such images can reveal a telltale series of malformed capillaries in regions of the brain. Brain capillary malformations can have potentially devastating neurological consequences, including epileptic seizures.

Frustratingly, since doctors first described Sturge-Weber syndrome over 100 years ago, the relationship between brain capillary malformations and seizures has remained somewhat unexplained. In 2013, a Johns Hopkins University team found a GNAQ R183Q gene mutation in about 90 percent of sampled Sturge-Weber patients. However, the mutation’s effect on particular cells and its relationship to seizures still remained unknown.

But recently, some new light has been shed on the mystery. At Boston Children’s Hospital, Sturge-Weber patients donated their brain tissue to research after it was removed during a drastic surgery to treat severe epilepsy. An analysis of their tissue, funded by Boston Children’s Translational Neuroscience Center (TNC), has revealed the cellular location of the Sturge-Weber mutation. The discovery brings new hope of finding ways to improve the lives of those with the disorder. …

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With no time to lose, parents drive CMT4J gene therapy forward

Posted on February 23, 2017March 6, 2017 by Nancy Fliesler

Posted in People, Science, Therapeutics

More On: Basil Darras, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, citizen science, CMT4J, gene therapy, rare disease

In honor of Rare Disease Day (Feb. 28), we salute “citizen scientists” Jocelyn and John Duff.

When Talia Duff was born, her parents realized life would be different, but still joyful. They were quickly adopted by the Down syndrome parent community and fell in love with Talia and her bright smile.

But when Talia was about four, it was clear she had a true problem. She started losing strength in her arms and legs. When she got sick, which was often, the weakness seemed to accelerate.

Talia was initially diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own nerve fibers. Treated with IV immunoglobulin infusions to curb the inflammation, she seemed to grow stronger — but only for a time. Adding prednisone, a steroid, seemed to help. But it also caused bone loss, and Talia began having spine fractures.

“We tried a lot of different things, but she never got 100 percent better,” says Regina Laine, NP, who has been following Talia in Boston Children’s Hospital’s Neuromuscular Center the past several years, together with Basil Darras, MD. “That’s when we decided to readdress the possibility that it was genetic.” …

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Honoring rare disease ‘citizen scientists’

Posted on February 16, 2017February 16, 2017 by Nancy Fliesler

Posted in People, Science

Rare blood disorder sideroblastic anemia slowly reveals its genetic secrets

Posted on January 26, 2017January 26, 2017 by Irene Sege

Posted in Science

More On: blood disorders, Dana-Farber Boston Children's, Mark Fleming, Matthew Heaney, rare disease, sideroblastic anemia

congenital sideroblastic anemia — Regardless of the gene, all patients with sideroblastic anemia have sideroblasts: red blood cell precursors with abnormal iron deposits in mitochondria, shown here ringing the cell nucleus. (Paulo Henrique Orlandi Mourao/Wikimedia)

A decade ago, Brooks McMurray’s routine check-up was anything but routine. The suburban Boston boy’s spleen was enlarged. His red blood cell count was low and the cells were very small and very pale, which suggested a serious iron deficiency anemia. The family pediatrician referred McMurray, now a 19-year-old college freshman, to Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

There hematologists discovered the boy had unexpectedly high iron levels. Together with pathologist Mark Fleming, MD, DPhil, they solved the mystery. McMurray has congenital sideroblastic anemia, an inherited blood disorder so rare that fewer than 1,000 cases have been reported worldwide. Iron was getting stuck in the wrong place in the precursor red blood cells developing in his bone marrow. …

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2017 predictions for biomedicine

Posted on December 29, 2016January 3, 2017 by David Williams

Posted in Market trends, Pediatrics, Science, Therapeutics

More On: cell therapy, David Williams, gene therapy, genomic medicine, immunotherapy, industry-academia partnerships, precision medicine, predictions, rare disease, research funding

2017 predictions for biomedicine

David Williams, MD, is Boston Children’s Hospital’s newly appointed Chief Scientific Officer. He is also president of the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and director of Clinical and Translational Research at Boston Children’s. Vector connected with him to get his forecast on where biomedical research and therapeutic development will go in the year ahead. …

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Why we’re glad the Cures Act passed: Its provisions benefit children

Posted on December 19, 2016December 19, 2016 by Amy Judge DeLong

Posted in Ethics and policy, Pediatrics

More On: legislation, medical research funding, National Pediatric Research Network Act, rare disease

Amy Judge DeLong is manager of Federal Government Relations at Boston Children’s Hospital.

In the midst of a seismic shift in Presidential administrations and anticipation of the incoming Congress, a landmark medical research bill with several provisions important to children cleared the lame duck session of Congress. The 21^st Century Cures Act (Cures) is the end result of nearly three years of bipartisan Congressional activity. Last week, it was signed into law.

Cures includes scores of provisions aimed at strengthening National Institutes of Health funding for medical research and accelerating review efforts at the Food and Drug Administration. The law cleared Congress with overwhelming majorities, an example of bipartisanship that may be challenged in the months ahead. …

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The 21st Century Cures Act: Addressing unmet needs in children with rare disease

Posted on September 12, 2016September 7, 2016 by Ahmed Kayal

Posted in Ethics and policy, Pediatrics, Therapeutics

More On: 21st Century Cures Act, legislation, rare disease

21st Century Cures Act and children — Among its other provisions, the Cures Act would advance implementation of the 2013 National Pediatric Research Network Act, boosting therapeutic development for rare childhood diseases.

Medical solutions often require countless hours of investigation, months of testing and monitoring, years of post-trial and market analysis and billions of dollars of investment — with no certainty of success.

Last year, after years of groundwork, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Cures Act. A companion measure is being developed in the Senate, and stakeholders are optimistic that agreement on a package — even a slimmed down bill — could happen this year.

While Congress has addressed research and medical product regulatory needs before, the Cures Act has been unique in its comprehensive approach, looking at all elements of the research spectrum — from basic discovery science to translational research to regulatory review. It would upgrade the National Institutes of Health’s research capabilities and update the Food and Drug Administration’s approval policies to get new drugs and devices to the clinic sooner. …

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Citizen science: Genetic bone disease fuels a teen’s passion for research

Posted on August 17, 2016August 12, 2016 by George Davies

Posted in People, Science

More On: bone density, citizen science, fibular hemimelia, rare disease

When I was just 3 months old, I was diagnosed with fibular hemimelia, a rare genetic condition that affects about 1 in 50,000 people. It manifests itself as the lack of the fibula bone, a key structural bone in the lower leg that provides major stability in the ankle and knee.

Fibular hemimelia leads to a severe leg length discrepancy — which, in my case, would have amounted to over 6 inches without treatment. Prior to my time at Boston Children’s Hospital, the go-to cure was amputation — replacing my lower leg with a series of prostheses.

Luckily, at the time of my diagnosis, leg-lengthening surgeries were just being approved in the U.S. My parents couldn’t bear to part with my leg, so over the course of 18 years, I have undergone 13 procedures to combat my leg-length difference, starting at age 5. This early exposure to the medical field, coupled with encouragement from teachers, led to a passion for science. …

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Citizen science: Giving patients a voice in drug development

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Nancy Fliesler

Posted in Market trends, Therapeutics

More On: clinical trials, drug approval, drug development, patient engagement, rare disease

There’s a natural tension between wanting the FDA to ensure safety and efficacy before a drug enters the market and wanting to speed up what many view as a glacially slow approval process. The rare disease community tends to fall in the second camp, and has become increasingly vocal in calling for more clinical trials, more flexibility in their design and redefinition of what constitutes a benefit.

ALS advocates, for example, have called for a parallel track, “in which FDA provides an early approval based on limited data, and then continues the learning process in a confirmatory clinical trial and if needed, patient registries to collect additional data from patients receiving the drug outside the clinical trial…”

Recent legislation is encouraging patient engagement in drug development, especially for conditions with profound unmet medical needs. In its 2012 iteration, the Prescription Drug User Fees Act (PDUFA) introduced public meetings to get input from the patient community, captured in a series of informative white papers. …

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Hunting rare cancers to ground

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Nancy Fliesler

Posted in Science, Therapeutics

More On: Andrew Hong, cancer genetics, rare disease

As we’ve seen this week on Vector, some rare childhood cancers such as medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma are starting to give up their molecular secrets, raising the possibility (and in medulloblastoma’s case, the reality) of precision treatments. Many cancers, though, are so rare that there aren’t even cell lines in which to study them. Yet they could hold important insights. The first tumor suppressor gene, Rb, was discovered in retinoblastoma, a cancer affecting a mere 500 U.S. children each year.

Doctors often have no clear consensus for diagnosing and treating rare cancers, and outcomes tend to be poor in both children and adults. Andrew Hong, MD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Broad Institute’s Cancer Program and a pediatric oncologist at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, is part of a research team that wants to fix that.

Armed with recent advances in culture technology, the scientists aim to engineer cell lines for as many rare cancers as they can get samples for — and then interrogate them for therapeutic targets. A proof-of-concept published in Nature Communications last month finds a lot of potential in their approach. Read more on Broad Minded, the Broad Institute’s science blog.

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