News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved PTC Therapeutics’ one-time gene therapy, now called Kebilidi (eladocagene exuparvovec-tneq) in the U.S., for children and adults with AADC deficiency across the full spectrum of disease severity. The decision makes Kebilidi, also approved under the brand name Upstaza…

Disparities diagnosing rare genetic diseases in minority racial communities likely are due to systemic barriers, and are not because genetic tests are less likely to provide usable results in nonwhite patients, a new study led by a genetics company suggests. The study, by Genedx and its collaborators, found that…

The European Rare Diseases Research Alliance (ERDERA) was launched officially last week with the vision to offer better diagnosis and treatment for the 30 million people living in Europe with a rare disease like aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. Coordinated by the National Institute of Health and…

Low levels of the nerve signaling molecule dopamine, a feature of aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, affect the growth at early stages of nerve fibers in a brain region important for movement, a mouse study reveals. Early nerve fiber growth in AADC-deficient mice lacked the precise guidance seen…

Florida State University (FSU) has received $5 million from the State of Florida to support its Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases, which conducts research on rare diseases, such as aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, that affect children. The announcement was made by state representative Adam Anderson during…

Oct. 23 will mark the fifth annual AADC Deficiency Awareness Day: an event aimed at raising awareness and promoting education about aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. The AADC Family Network will host this event, which includes a Facebook live presentation slated for 11 a.m. ET. The…

Direct delivery of gene therapies into the central nervous system (CNS) — an approach used by Upstaza (eladocagene exuparvovec), a gene therapy now under review in the U.S. as a treatment for aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency — may have advantages over gene therapies given into the…

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…

The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre (OHC) is hosting its biannual symposium on rare disease therapy development drivers, bringing together experts from academia, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, venture capital, and patient advocacy to discuss the latest research, therapeutic strategies, and collaboration efforts for rare diseases such as aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase…

Researchers have uncovered the effects of gene mutations that are associated with mild or moderate forms of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. In general, DDC gene mutations linked to milder cases were associated with greater residual activity of the AADC enzyme than in severe cases. Because most known…