disease — Blog — Sage Perspectives Blog

February 28th is Rare Disease Day – A day on which the rare disease community shouts to all that can hear RARE IS MANY, RARE IS STRONG, RARE IS PROUD!

But what does that mean? Rare diseases are not rare? Rare is many - There are over 7,000 different rare diseases that have been identified and that number is growing. Collectively, in the United States 25-30 million people, over half who are children, have a rare disease. That is 1 in 10 people have a rare disease – this is almost as many people as have diabetes, and more people than have cancer, HIV, and Alzheimers combined.

Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma ArshadFebruary 25, 2022rare disease day, rare disease, disease

Plasmatology: a new journey begins

This year we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the development of plasmapheresis, a landmark moment in medicine. The procedure was developed by Josep Antoni Grifols-Lucas and was presented at the 4th International Congress of Blood Transfusion in Lisbon, Portugal, in July 1951 with a publication following soon after in the British Medical Journal.

ResearchKimberley SimpsonMarch 12, 2021plasmatology, pre-diagnosis, disease, plasma, Cell Biology, biological markers

Synaptic proteins as biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases: their importance and possible uses

Synapses are points of connections between neurons where information is transmitted, and memories formed. The brain, especially as we get old, can be subject to different neurodegenerative diseases, leading to cognitive and/or motor disorders depending on the area and type of neurons affected. During neurodegeneration, synapses are also affected, either directly by pathological processes, or as a consequence of neuronal loss. The mechanisms leading to synaptic dysfunction and loss are not completely understood, yet, and great efforts are made trying to unravel them.