News

Child with Hypoparathyroidism Has Kidney, Parathyroid Transplant

The dual transplant of a kidney and a parathyroid gland was safe and effective at restoring parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels and turning back kidney disease, in an 11-year-old girl with congenital hypoparathyroidism and renal failure, a case study reports. “Simultaneous living donation and transplantation of a kidney and a…

Organizations Rally to Help Ukrainian Rare Disease Patients

A Russian military plane crash near Tetiana Zamorska’s home in Kyiv, Ukraine, was a sign that it was time for her and her family to leave. The treacherous, 34-hour pilgrimage that ultimately brought the group of eight by car to temporary accommodations in neighboring Poland last month was physically and emotionally difficult,…

Europe Awaits Proposed New Framework for Sharing Health Data

The European Commission is expected to propose a new governing framework for health data next month, called the European Health Data Space (EHDS), with the aim of connecting national health systems to facilitate secure and efficient transfer of data across systems in different European nations. The move is expected to…

Patients Report Reduced Quality of Life Linked to Symptoms

A significant proportion of people with hypoparathyroidism reported quality-of-life impairments, which were associated with more symptoms and an inability to work, according to a recent German survey study. A lack of understanding about the disease from potential employers, physicians, and others also may underlie these declines in quality of…

FDA Rejects Changes to Natpara Cartridge, Delaying Its Relaunch

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected Takeda Pharmaceutical’s proposed changes to address the risk of rubber fragments detaching into Natpara’s cartridge that led to the therapy’s U.S. recall in 2019. This treatment for hypoparathyroidism involves puncturing the medication’s cartridge rubber septum — a disk…

Increased Education Crucial to Improving Rare Disease Care, Survey Finds

Healthcare providers involved in diagnosing and treating rare diseases believe that increased physician education and collaboration with specialized facilities will have the greatest positive impact on treating these conditions over the next five years, according to results from a 2021 survey. Definitive Healthcare, a healthcare commercial intelligence company, conducted…