<![CDATA["Rare Diseases" Increasingly Common, Not Rare for Afflicted]]>

1.0 link 165780 <![CDATA["Rare Diseases" Increasingly Common, Not Rare for Afflicted]]> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-luce/rare-diseases-increasingl_b_165780.html I had the privilege of interviewing two public health advocates in my Manhattan office recently, Mary Dunkle and Denis Costello. These two enthusiastic and dedicated educators brought me up to speed on an issue I knew little about: rare diseases.

A rare disease is defined as one that afflicts fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. Often, physicians and pharmaceutical companies are unable to deal adequately with rare diseases as they are so little understood.

There are now over 7,000 diseases listed...

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