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European Initiative Targets Diagnosis, Treatment of Rare Diseases

A new international consortium based in Paris, and funded largely by the 28-member European Union, intends to speed the diagnosis of rare diseases, while also accelerating the development of treatments for the 95% of such illnesses that currently don’t have one. The European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases (EJP…

Autoantibodies Against GRP78 May Underlie PCD in LEMS, Study Suggests

Autoantibodies against the GRP78 protein could explain why some Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) patients develop paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD), a study suggests. The GRP78-targeting autoantibodies may disrupt the blood-brain barrier that shields the central nervous system, allowing LEMS autoantibodies to reach the brain. The study, “GRP78 antibodies damage…