President Obama signs the FDA Safety and Innovation Act

On July 9th, President Obama signed into law the FDA Safety and Innovation Act, legislation with many provisions to support research and treatments for rare disorders.
Among the new law’s provisions of interest to the rare disease community:
• Provisions to encourage accelerated patient access to new medical treatments
• The development of Humanitarian Use Devices (medical devices for small patient populations)
• Accelerated development of “breakthrough therapies” that show early promise
• Enhanced FDA consultation with rare disease experts
• A rare pediatric disease priority review voucher incentive program to encourage development of treatments for rare pediatric disorders
• Resolution of conflict of interest issues that have kept some rare disease experts out of the decision making process
• Research into how to make drug labels more accessible to the blind and visually impaired

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Ratner's Cheesecake

Here's another recipe from Toby! Thanks Toby......and I'll get the others posted soon! Ratner's Cheesecake and plain cookies Ratner's was a Jewish dairy restaurant in the lower East Side of Manhattan. This recipe, from my disintegrating, no longer in print Ratner's cookbook, is the closest I've ever gotten to reproducing the rich, heavy cheesecake my mother made when I was a kid. It's worth the time it takes to prepare and every last calorie. Dough Can be prepared in advance. Makes enough for two cakes. Can be frozen or used to make cookies – see recipe below. 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup shortening 1 teaspoon lemon extract 1 cup butter 2 eggs 3 cups sifted cake flour ½ teaspoon salt 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients with hands. Refrigerate 3 -4 hours, or preferably overnight. Filling (for

The next generation with Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome

I'm so behind on posting about the trip to Puerto Rico. Since the episode of Mystery Diagnosis on Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome ran right after we got home, it's been a little busy. These, however, are my favorite pictures from Puerto Rico. I know, not pretty senery etc - but these little guys and gals inspire me. They are the next generation of folks with HPS, and if we keep up the hard work, they will live better lives because of it. They motivate me.

Help for one of our newest HPS friends

As many of you know, I have a google alert set up for all sorts of key terms like albinism, pulmonary fibrosis etc. The following was posted on the blog of a friend of Melanie's. Melanie is one of our newest members of the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome family. Unfortunately, like so many she didn't know she had HPS and the lung disease sort of snuck up on her. Melanie will be 26 years old next week. Perhaps some of us would like to contribute to the fund set up to help her and her family for her birthday. Here's the post: Melanie Hernandez, beloved sister and daughter to Pete, Monique, Cookie, and Bugie, has been diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis, a lung disease occurring in people with Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome, a very rare disease.Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome (“HPS”) is a genetic metabolic disorder. It is characterized by: Albinism, Vision Impairment, Bleeding Disorder, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Lung Disease – Pulmonary Fibrosis. With the family’s research and the recollect

Living on the frontlines

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