Katherine Poinsatte,  —

HiFi sequencing IDs mutations in difficult-to-detect rare diseases

PacBio’s high-fidelity (HiFi) sequencing, a new technology for detecting disease-causing DNA mutations in rare diseases, such as AADC deficiency, detected 93% of 145 mutations in 100 samples of patients who had difficult-to-detect rare diseases, a study shows. While diagnosing these patients previously required multiple tests with traditional methods that…

Canada, Saskatchewan sign deal to improve access to rare disease drugs

The Canadian government has signed a bilateral agreement with Saskatchewan, a province in Western Canada, to improve access to treatments for rare diseases and support enhanced access to existing drugs, early diagnosis, and screening for rare diseases, such as aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. The agreement includes an…

‘Unacceptable’ situations faced by people with rare diseases in Europe

Nearly three-quarters of Europeans surveyed would not accept a scenario where their loved ones with a rare disease had to wait several years to be diagnosed. This is according to recent results from the third European Rare Disease Observatory, a large survey of more than 11,000 people in…

AI model identifies existing drugs to repurpose for rare diseases

An artificial intelligence (AI) model could identify possible therapies for thousands of diseases from existing treatments, according to Harvard Medical School researchers. These diseases include rare disorders such as aromatic I-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, for which there is currently no treatment. The model, called TxGNN, closely resembles the…