145: An Interview With Sandy Siegel, Founder and President of the Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association

Larry Luxner, senior correspondent for Rare Disease Advisor, interviews Jean Elwing, MD, a professor of medicine and director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Ohio's University of Cincinnati.

Larry Luxner, senior correspondent for Rare DIsease Advisor, interviews Payel Gupta, MD, on social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, and their importance in reaching today's public—and fighting online misinformation.

Larry Luxner, senior correspondent for Rare Disease Advisor, interviews Sandy Siegel, founder and president of the Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association. Siegel started the charity 30 years ago with his wife, Pauline, after she was diagnosed with transverse myelitis. After Pauline's death in 2017, the organization expanded to include five other rare neuroimmune diseases including neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).

Larry Luxner, senior correspondent for Rare Disease Advisor, interviews Anastasia Vishnevetsky, MD, MPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Vishnevetsky is heading a groundbreaking clinical trial of the cannabinoid spray nabiximols in treating the symptoms of NMOSD.

Larry Luxner, senior correspondent for Rare Disease Advisor, interviews Ignacio Muñoz-Sanjuan, PhD, the president and founder of Factor-H—a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that works to alleviate extreme poverty among people with Huntington disease in Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru.

Larry Luxner, senior correspondent for Rare Disease Advisor, interviews Amy Case, MD, chief medical officer of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, about the importance of passing the bipartisan Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act, which is currently stalled in Congress.

Larry Luxner, senior correspondent for Rare Disease Advisor, interviews Steve Van Wormer, cofounder and director of the Phaware Global Association. Van Wormer became a patient advocate after his late son, Lucas, was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension at age 4.

Larry Luxner, senior correspondent for Rare Disease Advisor, interviews Victor Test, MD, an expert in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Dr. Test is a professor of medicine and chair of the pulmonary vascular disease program at Texas Tech School of Medicine in Lubbock.

Larry Luxner, senior correspondent for Rare Disease Advisor, interviews pulmonologist Drew Harris, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Dr. Harris is also medical director of the Black Lung Program at Stone Mountain Health Services, in the heart of southwestern Virginia's coal-mining industry.

Larry Luxner, senior correspondent for Rare Disease Advisor, interviews Mahesh Desai, PhD, of the Luxembourg Institute of Health’s Department of Infection and Immunity. Dr. Desai discusses how healthy gut bacteria may reduce the side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients.