rare diseases

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Rare, 100% Fatal Brain Disease Strikes 3 in Same County

Officials say 2 have died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in Hood River County, Oregon

(Newser) - Three people in a county in Oregon are believed to have acquired Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare brain disease with a 100% fatality rate, two of whom have since died. Symptoms are similar to those of Alzheimer's disease but CJD progresses faster, with death usually occurring within a year. The...

The Disease Was About to Kill Him. AI Intervened
The Disease Was About
to Kill Him. AI Intervened
longform
Mar 29, 2025 8:00 AM CDT

The Disease Was About to Kill Him. AI Intervened

The New York Times looks at how AI is finding new uses for existing drugs

(Newser) - It's "one example of AI that we don't have to fear, that we can be really excited about," is how one doctor puts it. He's talking about using AI to pore over existing drugs in search of ones that can be used to treat rare...

Luxembourg's Prince Frederik Dead at 22
Luxembourg's
Prince Frederik Dead at 22
OBITUARY
Mar 10, 2025 7:11 AM CDT

Luxembourg's Prince Frederik Dead at 22

Young royal had a rare genetic disorder called PolG disease

(Newser) - A young European royal is dead after succumbing to a rare genetic disorder. TMZ reports that 22-year-old Prince Frederik of Luxembourg, the youngest son of the Prince and Princess of Nassau, died earlier this month of PolG disease, a mitochondrial condition that "robs the body's cells of energy,...

Celine Dion Cancels Tour Over Neurological Disorder

Singer with stiff person syndrome not ready to return to stage—though 'I'm not giving up'

(Newser) - Celine Dion's rare neurological condition will keep her from touring even longer than expected. The singer canceled the European leg of her Courage World Tour, which was to run from August to April 2024, on Friday, per the Guardian . "All remaining dates currently on sale for 2023 and...

Monkeypox May Have Made Its Way to 2nd US State

Massachusetts had already reported a case of rare disease; now, a suspected case in New York City

(Newser) - The UK , Portugal, and Spain have all recently reported a small number of confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox, and on Wednesday, Massachusetts phoned in its own report , as officials tried to see if it was linked with the ones overseas. Now, a possible second case in another US city:...

His Uncombable Hair Is an Actual Syndrome
Mom's Social Media Post
Leads to Son's Diagnosis
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 12, 2022 12:40 PM CST

Mom's Social Media Post Leads to Son's Diagnosis

Lock Samples is fine, except for his Uncombable hair syndrome

(Newser) - A mother's social media post that featured her young son's unruly hair has led to a surprise diagnosis: It turns out that Lock Samples of Roswell, Ga., has an extremely rare condition known as uncombable hair syndrome, reports Fox 5 Atlanta . The name is self-explanatory: Lock's hair...

2nd US Case of Monkeypox Emerges
2nd US Case of
Monkeypox Emerges
Nov 18, 2021 6:33 AM CST

2nd US Case of Monkeypox Emerges

Maryland resident recently returned from Nigeria, as with the earlier case in Texas

(Newser) - Monkeypox, a rare viral illness that usually occurs in Central and Western Africa, has been identified in a second US resident since July. A Maryland resident who recently returned from Nigeria is in isolation with mild symptoms of the virus first detected in lab monkeys, the Maryland Department of Health...

Walmart Recalls Room Spray After Deaths

4 cases, 2 fatal, of rare infection linked to $4 room spray

(Newser) - It started when a person in Kansas got sick with a rare tropical disease and died. Other people got sick in Minnesota, Texas, and Georgia. When someone in the US gets melioidosis, an illness caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei bacteria, doctors assume it came home with them on a trip to...

Woman Catches Most Deadly Form of Plague From Her Cats

Pneumonic plague rarely occurs in humans; her case is severe

(Newser) - A woman in Wyoming has come down with pneumonic plague, the most severe form of plague and the only one that can pass from person to person, which she likely caught from her cats. The state Health Department reported Wyoming's seventh human case of plague in 43 years—a...

Terrifying COVID Complication Follows India's 2nd Wave

A rare fungal infection is plaguing survivors

(Newser) - As if India needed its bad situation to get worse, a rare fungal infection known as mucormycosis is cropping up among some COVID survivors. It's caused by the common mucor fungus, which most people are exposed to without suffering any ill effects. But some COVID patients, particularly those with...

His Sister Had Confused Episodes, Then Died. Now He Had Them

Inside the race to solve a medical mystery

(Newser) - If you're not familiar with rare metabolic diseases, you're not alone, and that fact is what drove one family's decision to share their story: of one tragedy, and one tragedy narrowly averted. As Dr. Lisa Sanders, author of Diagnosis: Solving the Most Baffling Medical Mysteries, writes for...

Cops: NY Woman Harassed Toddler With Rare Disorder

Krista Sewell is accused of stalking 2-year-old Anna, who has condition that makes her skin split

(Newser) - "Over the past year, I have fought a battle I never thought I would fight and I felt fear no mother should feel," says Jennie Riley. The battle the upstate New York mom refers to is that of a harassment campaign against her toddler, allegedly carried out by...

Ordered Out of US, Woman Faces Death Without Treatment

Isabel Bueso arrived 16 years ago to be a subject in a trial

(Newser) - Immigrants facing deportation from the US and those seeking asylum here have feared for their safety—but Isabel Bueso fears for her health. She has a rare disease, mucopolysaccharidoses, for which she receives treatment in Oakland that she couldn't get back in Guatemala. Bueso, 24, came to the US...

Blood Test Could Be Big News on Rare Disorder



Potential
Breakthrough
on Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome
new study
Apr 30, 2019 12:18 PM CDT

Potential Breakthrough on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Researchers think they can diagnose it with a blood test

(Newser) - The study was small—involving just 40 patients—but the results couldn't have been better. Researchers were able to correctly determine which 20 of those patients suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome based on a blood test, reports the San Jose Mercury News . A larger, more robust test is now...

Parents' Plea: Help Our Son Before He Turns to Stone

Jaiden Rogers of Colorado has a rare condition called stiff skin syndrome

(Newser) - The parents of a boy with an incredibly rare disease say they've run out of money and options and are asking for the public's help. Tim and Natalie Rogers of Alamosa, Colorado, say their 12-year-old son, Jaiden, is essentially turning to stone because of a condition called stiff...

Doctors Find Way to Halt Deadly Child Brain Disease

Gene therapy is 'curative' for ALD, says doctor

(Newser) - Without a risky bone-marrow transplant before symptoms appear, children with brain disease ALD can expect to live no longer than five years as nerve cells in the brain die off and erase one's ability to walk, talk, and think. Even a successful transplant can result in permanent disabilities, reports...

Deadly Insomnia a Devastating 'Family Curse'

One woman with FFI gene mutation hopes to find a cure

(Newser) - In 2010, Sonia Vallabh noticed her mother acting oddly. "She was fitful and couldn't really tell you if she'd been awake or asleep," Vallabh tells CNN . Soon, the 52-year-old couldn't recognize her daughter and would spasm and speak in tongues. Upon her death months later,...

She May Be 1st Girl With 'Tree Man Syndrome'
Rare Disease
May Have Struck
Its 1st Female
in case you missed it
Feb 5, 2017 12:07 PM CST

Rare Disease May Have Struck Its 1st Female

Sahana Khatun was hospitalized with 'bark-like warts' on her face Sunday

(Newser) - It looks like we may have to start calling it "tree person syndrome." Sky News reports 10-year-old Sahana Khatun may be the first female in the world with the rare genetic disease commonly known as tree man syndrome. The Bangladeshi girl was admitted to a hospital in the...

Pregnant Doctor Succumbs to Rare Disease

She died unexpectedly in her final month of pregnancy

(Newser) - A doctor in her final month of pregnancy with her third child was unwittingly suffering from a rare complication of pregnancy called peripartum cardiomyopathy, or PPCM. It's a form of heart failure that weakens the heart chambers and, in the most serious cases, can be fatal, explains the Houston ...

'Tree Man' Gets Pruned, Has Shot at Normal Life

Abul Bajandar's hands and feet were covered with giant bark-like warts

(Newser) - It's a new beginning for the man formerly known as "tree man." Abul Bajandar, whose hands and feet were covered in giant warts that looked like tree bark, underwent his first surgery to remove the growths last February. Now—nearly a year and at least 16 operations...

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