DeRidder, LA, February 16, 2016
Erdheim-Chester Disease patients can look forward to better medical support. This February the ECD Global Alliance announces two new Emerging ECD Care Centers. Joining the network are Dr. Paul Hendrie with the Seattle Cancer Center Alliance in Seattle, Washington, Dr. Christian Pagnoux and soon, Dr. Vishal Kukreti with Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada. The new centers are now linked with other scientists and clinicians that study ECD. The connection makes learning and cooperation easier for doctors. Patients in the Seattle and Toronto regions will benefit from the best care available for ECD.
There are eighteen worldwide care centers. Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto is the first emerging care center in Canada. The Seattle Cancer Center Alliance is the first in the Northwest.
ECD Care Centers are institutions committed to caring for ECD patients. Centers that have treated less than five ECD patients are considered emerging. Emerging centers are interested in treating ECD patients and finding out more about the disease. Having assembled a medical team to provide care, these centers are now ready to collaborate with other Care Centers to learn more about ECD and offer the best ECD patient care possible.
The ECD Global Alliance publicized the start of the ECD Care Center project at its International Patient and Family Gathering in October 2015. The project supports the ECDGA's advocacy mission. It helps patients find knowledgeable doctors once diagnosed. Specialized ECD doctors help alleviate some of the difficulties patients face living with the rare disorder.
Find out more about ECD Care Centers by visiting
www.erdheim-chester.org/care-centers
.
Erdheim-Chester Disease is an ultra-rare condition with no known cause. It is a rare non-Langerhans histiocytic disorder that is challenging to diagnose and treat. Often described as an inflammatory myeloid neoplastic disease, ECD is characterized by the accumulation of histiocytes in tissue and organs. Histiocytes are cells that normally fight infections. The infiltration of the histiocytes causes tissue and organs to become dense and fibrotic, leading to organ failure unless a successful treatment is found.
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