High drug costs: the tale of 4 women
In 2016, Berna Heyman testified before a U.S. Senate committee about her personal experience with sudden and dramatic increases in drug prices. She was forced to switch drugs to treat her [...]
How We Get Scientific Answers
I've read and reported on scientific studies for my entire career, and now I'm finally getting my chance to be a part of one. It's a patient registry study for Wilson disease! [...]
How a Chance Conversation Led Me to a New Treatment
You never know when a chance conversation will change the course of your life. It was the year 2000, and I was attending the International Health and Medical Media Awards, better known [...]
It’s Penicillamine, Not Penicillin!
You've heard of penicillin, right? It was one of the first antibiotics – and is still one of the most widely used. It has saved millions of lives since it was discovered, [...]
Rare Disease is Not Rare
When was the last time you felt competitive? My last time surprised me, because it was at my book club. It wasn’t about that month's book selection – rather, it was when [...]
No More Martinis For Me
Imagine practicing medicine without the internet. In 1983, doctors relied on the medical books in their office or a nearby medical library for reference. Medical journals describing new scientific studies arrived through [...]
How Martinis Led to my Rare Disease Diagnosis
The night I drank my first martini would also be my last. My husband says the martinis saved my life. I’m not sure about that, but by the end of that weekend [...]
Wilson Disease
I’m excited to introduce the topic of Wilson disease on my blog in order to raise awareness and understanding of this rare disease. The following post is reprinted with permission from my [...]