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Lundbeck: Building Hope for HD
with Casa De Hogar
Lundbeck was pleased to donate a large supply of
tetrabenazine to the Hereditary Disease Foundation to
provide to the Casa De Hogar (House of Love and Hope), a
unique clinic in Venezuela that provides care for people
affected by HD.
The Casa De Hogar clinic provides treatment, food, and
care at no cost to thousands of family members with HD
who live along the shores of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Venezuela has one of the largest known families affected by
HD, and HD has been in this family for generations. The
clinic continues to be an important part of the HD
community, serving as a model for patient care, despite
extreme challenges of poverty.
The clinic was built over a ten-year period and opened its
doors in 1999. It was established by the Hereditary Disease
Foundation in collaboration with local Venezuelan
authorities in gratitude to the families whose help was
critical to researchers who identified the HD gene in 1983
and isolated it in 1993. These discoveries provided the
knowledge which enables doctors to genetically test for
HD, and has paved the way for the varied and promising
HD research being conducted today. The clinic is now
home to over 65 people and provides care and food to
many more from the surrounding community.
"As we approach our fifth year of involvement with this
degenerative neurological disease, we are inspired by the
resilience of this local HD community and continue to look
for meaningful ways to support their needs," said Staffan
Schüberg, president of Lundbeck in the United States.
"We've provided financial assistance to the Hereditary
Disease Foundation to aid the clinic over the past three
years through our 'Build Hope for HD' online awareness
campaign, and we're proud to expand our support with
this product donation."
In total, the Build Hope campaigns have resulted in
$220,000 in donations from Lundbeck. Funds have been
used to renovate and update the clinic's facilities, purchase
new hospital equipment, and assist in the general day-today operations of the facility.
Upcoming HD Events
DATE
EVENT
ABSTRACT DEADLINE
LOCATION
June 16-20, 2013
Movement Disorder
Society International
Congress
Closed
Sydney, Australia
June 21-23, 2013
Huntington Disease
Society of America
National Convention
N/A
Jacksonville, FL
September 15-18, 2013
World Congress on
Huntington's Disease
Not yet posted
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
September 21-26, 2013
World Congress of
Neurology
April 8
Vienna, Austria
November 9-13, 2013
Society for Neuroscience
May 9
San Diego, CA
To have your conference added for future publications, please e-mail HD Insights at editor@hdinsights.org.
HD Insights, Vol. 4
Copyright © Huntington Study Group 2013. All rights reserved.
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