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PatientsLikeMe
PatientsLikeMe (PLM) is an integrated community, health management, and real-world data platform. The platform currently has over 830,000 members who are dealing with more than 2,900 conditions, such as ALS, MS, and epilepsy. Data generated by patients themselves are collected and quantified with the goal of providing an environment for peer support and learning. These data capture the influences of different lifestyle choices, socio-demographics, conditions and treatments on a person's health. History PatientsLikeMe was inspired by the life experiences of Stephen Heywood, diagnosed in 1998 at the age of 29 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. The company was founded in 2004 by his brothers Jamie and Ben Heywood and long-time family friend Jeff Cole. After being diagnosed with ALS, Stephen's family founded a non-profit, ALS Therapy Development Institute, in an attempt to slow his disease and treat his symptoms. However, the slow pace of researc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Heywood (chief Executive)
James Heywood (born October 4, 1966, in London, England) is an American MIT mechanical engineer who founded with his family the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) when his younger brother Stephen Heywood was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in December 1998. He is currently a director at AOBiome, as well as founder and Chief executive officer, CEO of PatientsLikeMe. ALS Therapy Development Institute Conceived while James Heywood was moving cross country in March 1999 to be with his family, ALS TDI became the world's first non-profit biotechnology company and pioneered a new model for accelerating translational research by directly hiring scientists to develop treatments outside of the academic and for-profit corporate architecture. The institute's initial approach focused on gene therapy and stem cells and ALS TDI was the first to publish on the safety of the use of stem cells in ALS patients. ALS TDI then pioneered a novel high-throughput in-vivo val ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Heywood
Stephen Heywood (April 13, 1969 – November 26, 2006) was an American builder and self-taught architect, specializing in the renovation of old houses. He was diagnosed with ALS in 1998, at the age of 29. He was the subject of '' His Brother's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine'', written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jonathan Weiner, and the documentary film '' So Much So Fast'', which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. His brothers James Heywood and Benjamin Heywood are co-founders of a website for patients with ALS and other life-changing illnesses, PatientsLikeMe; his father is the engineering professor John B. Heywood. Heywood lived in Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ..., with his wife and son until his deat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American Multinational corporation, multinational for-profit company specializing in health insurance and health care services based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Selling insurance products under UnitedHealth Group#UnitedHealthcare, UnitedHealthcare, and health care services under the Optum brand, it is the List of largest companies by revenue, world's seventh-largest company by revenue and the largest health care company by revenue. The company is ranked 8th on the 2024 Fortune Global 500, ''Fortune'' Global 500. UnitedHealth Group had a market capitalization of $460.3 billion as of December 20, 2024. UnitedHealth Group has faced numerous investigations, lawsuits, and fines—including U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC enforcement for stock option backdating, Medicare (United States), Medicare overbilling, unfair claims practices, mental health treatment denials, and Anti-competitive practices, anticompetitive behavior—highlightin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Networking Service
A social networking service (SNS), or social networking site, is a type of online social media platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections. Social networking services vary in format and the number of features. They can incorporate a range of new information and communication tools, operating on desktops and on laptops, on mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones. This may feature digital photo/video/sharing and diary entries online (blogging). Online community services are sometimes considered social-network services by developers and users, though in a broader sense, a social-network service usually provides an individual-centered service whereas online community services are groups centered. Generally defined as "websites that facilitate the building of a network of contacts in order to exchange various t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ALS Therapy Development Institute
The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is a non-profit biotechnology research organization focused on finding treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). With a staff including more than 30 scientists, it operates a research and development program centered on ALS. History ALS TDI was founded as the ALS Therapy Development Foundation (ALS TDF) in 1999 by James Heywood, Robert Bonazoli, and Melinda Marsh Heywood after James' brother, Stephen Heywood, was diagnosed with the disease. Dr. Tennore Ramesh joined ALS-TDF when his sister in law was diagnosed with ALS and setup the research facility and served as Chief Scientific Officer from inception until 2003. The organization was initially funded through a donation from Stephen, as well as one from Alex and Brit d'Arbeloff. The Foundation's first therapy concept was to replace EAAT2 protein using gene therapy. In 2004, the Foundation moved to a location in Cambridge, Massachusetts with an in-house lab. ALS TDF con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equity, company's stock is offered, owned, traded or exchanged privately, also known as "over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter". Related terms are unlisted organisation, unquoted company and private equity. Private companies are often less well-known than their public company, publicly traded counterparts but still have major importance in the world's economy. For example, in 2008, the 441 list of largest private non-governmental companies by revenue, largest private companies in the United States accounted for $1.8 trillion in revenues and employed 6.2 million people, according to ''Forbes''. In general, all companies that are not owned by the government are classified as private enterprises. This definition encompasses both publ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devic's Disease
Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are a spectrum of autoimmune diseases characterized by acute inflammation of the optic nerve (optic neuritis, ON) and the spinal cord (myelitis).Banerjee S, Butcher R. Rituximab for the Treatment of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder nternet Ottawa (ON): Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health; 2021 Feb. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK571350/ Episodes of ON and myelitis can be simultaneous or successive. A relapsing disease course is common, especially in untreated patients. * Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a particular disease within the NMOSD spectrum. It is characterised by optic neuritis and longitudinally extensive myelitis. In more than 80% of NMO cases, the cause is immunoglobulin G autoantibodies to aquaporin 4 ( anti-AQP4), the most abundant water channel protein in the central nervous system. * Less common diseases with other manifestations are also part of the NMOSD spectrum. Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychosocial
The psychosocial approach looks at individuals in the context of the combined influence that psychological factors and the surrounding social environment have on their physical and mental wellness and their ability to function. This approach is used in a broad range of helping professions in health and social care settings as well as by medical and social science researchers. Background Psychiatrist Dr. Adolf Meyer in the late 19th century stated that: "We cannot understand the individual presentation of mental illness, nd perpetuating factorswithout knowing how that person functions in the environment." Psychosocial assessment stems from this idea. The relationship between mental and emotional wellbeing and the environment was first commonly applied by Freudian ego-psychologist Professor Erik Erikson in his description of the stages of psychosocial development in his book called Childhood and Society in 1950. Mary Richmond considered there to be a strict relationship betwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Department Of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country. Non-healthcare benefits include disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education assistance, home loans, and life insurance. The VA also provides burial and memorial benefits to eligible veterans and family members at 135 national cemeteries. While veterans' benefits have been provided by the federal government since the American Revolutionary War, a veteran-specific federal agency was not established until 1930, as the Veterans' Administration. In 1982, its mission was expanded to include caring for civilians and people who were not veterans in case of a national emergency. In 1989, the Veterans' Administration became a cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, leadership and training, and changing systems to address barriers to health. RWJF has been credited with helping to develop the 911 emergency system, reducing tobacco use among Americans, lowering rates of unwanted teenage pregnancies, and improving perceptions of hospice care. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supports the development of programs that can be used in community-led initiatives or by government bodies, funds research through surveys and polls, and makes impact investments. According to '' Pensions & Investments'' and Foundation Center, the foundation was the fifth-largest in the U.S. in investment assets, as of 2015. As of 2020, the value of its endowment was $13 billion. History The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Quality Forum
National Quality Forum (NQF) is a United States–based non-profit membership organization that promotes patient protections and healthcare quality through measurement and public reporting. It was established in 1999 based on recommendations by the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry. NQF’s membership comprises over 400 organizations, representing consumers, health plans, medical professionals, employers, government and other public health agencies, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and other quality improvement organizations. NQF has helped develop guidelines on palliative care. On August 16, 2023, the Joint Commission The Joint Commission is a United States-based nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c) organization that accredits more than 22,000 US health care organizations and programs. The international branch accredits medical services from around the world. A majori ... acquired the National Quality Forum. Jon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithium (medication)
Certain lithium compounds, also known as lithium salts, are used as psychiatric medication, primarily for bipolar disorder and for major depressive disorder. Lithium is taken orally (by mouth). Common side effects include increased urination, shakiness of the hands, and increased thirst. Serious side effects include hypothyroidism, diabetes insipidus, and lithium toxicity. Blood level monitoring is recommended to decrease the risk of potential toxicity. If levels become too high, diarrhea, vomiting, poor coordination, sleepiness, and ringing in the ears may occur. Lithium is teratogenic and can cause birth defects at high doses, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. The use of lithium while breastfeeding is controversial; however, many international health authorities advise against it, and the long-term outcomes of perinatal lithium exposure have not been studied. The American Academy of Pediatrics lists lithium as contraindicated for pregnancy and lactat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
