NBIA NEWS & INFORMATION

May 2018

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of BPAN families, research into this NBIA disorder is taking a leap forward this year with the award of three grants totaling $146,014.

Two of the grants went to Dr. Penelope Hogarth of the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland for a natural history study of Beta-propeller Protein-Associated Neurodegeneration, or BPAN. Our organization awarded her $45,000, and another $50,507 came from the University of Pennsylvania as a matching grant in collaboration with our organization.

Although an increasing number of BPAN individuals are being diagnosed, there is much to learn about how the disease progresses.

November, 2017

Drs. Susan Hayflick, Penny Hogarth and Ody Sibon told PKAN families recently that they are working with two companies to create a PKAN drug to ensure sufficient amounts for a clinical trial.

Speaking with PKAN families via a Facebook live stream video Nov. 6, the researchers said they are hopeful the compound that they are calling CoA-Z will correct a metabolic process involved in producing coenzyme A, called CoA. CoA is involved in metabolism and is thought to be low in individuals with Pantothenate Kinase-Associated Neurodegeneration, the most common form of NBIA. In the PKAN mouse, CoA-Z does everything Hayflick, Hogarth and Sibon would want to see before moving their studies into a human clinical trial.

August, 2017

The NBIA Disorders Association board in June awarded its first grants for two projects to research Fatty Acid Hydroxylase-associated Neurodegeneration, or FAHN, one of the NBIA disorders.

The grants were made possible by the fundraising efforts of the Engblom family from East Islip, N.Y. Parents Trevor and Gina, along with their son Kyle who has FAHN, worked tirelessly for over a year to raise the money.