How does ALS make you feel #InThreeWords?

May is ALS awareness month and this year, we’re joining the ALS Therapy Development Institute to share how ALS makes us feel, #InThreeWords. Sad, determined, frustrating as hell – just a few of the words PatientsLikeMe staff chose. Want to get involved? Check out what PatientsLikeMe staff had to say, including a video from our… Continue reading How does ALS make you feel #InThreeWords?

Meeting PF patients where they are

Say hello to John (John_R), a father, grandfather and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) survivor. Sound familiar? Last year he shared his story about life after a double lung transplant and the importance of considering a lung transplant early. This year, John started a Facebook group to live-stream pulmonary fibrosis (PF) support group meetings and conferences.… Continue reading Meeting PF patients where they are

Paul Wicks on the power of sharing data

Back in December, our VP of innovation, Paul Wicks, Ph.D., spoke at the annual International Symposium on ALS/MND in Dublin. The goal of the annual meeting is to share new understandings of ALS/MND as quickly as possible through collaboration between leading researchers around the world. Now, we’re sharing a video of his presentation about what… Continue reading Paul Wicks on the power of sharing data

Caregivers and companions – PatientsLikeMe members talk about their service animals

Service animals are often a topic of conversation in the PatientsLikeMe community, and many members frequently share their experiences with their furry friends. For example, Ted wrote about his service dog Catti-Brie in his blog interview. Here’s what other members are sharing about their animals: “Just last night when I was having a rough dream… Continue reading Caregivers and companions – PatientsLikeMe members talk about their service animals

“Pay it forward.” Following up with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patient and PatientsLikeMe member Lori

  This is Lori’s third interview on the PatientsLikeMe blog! She’s been sharing her journey with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (a rare lung disease) with all of our followers here, along with her real-world health experiences on her PatientsLikeMe profile. Since the last time we caught up with her, Lori has lost 70 lbs., has made… Continue reading “Pay it forward.” Following up with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patient and PatientsLikeMe member Lori

Subjects no more: what happens when trial participants realize they hold the power in clinical trials?

When I first became involved with online communities back in 2002, I moderated a small forum for patients with ALS/MND in the UK at King’s College Hospital to connect with one another, share tips and support, and to help our care center to serve them better. One area that remains controversial even to this day… Continue reading Subjects no more: what happens when trial participants realize they hold the power in clinical trials?

Free Up Research! On Our Way to 25,000 Signatures

Have you heard about the petition launched to the White House asking for all federally funded research to be freely accessible over the Internet? We’ve signed it and here’s why… Today, government-funded research (that’s research paid for with your tax dollars) is often something you can have access to in published scientific journals, but for a… Continue reading Free Up Research! On Our Way to 25,000 Signatures

H@cking Medicine: Open Up!

This weekend, MIT is hosting the first H@cking Medicine conference and PatientsLikeMe is proud to be a sponsor. The hacking encouraged here isn’t malicious, rather, it refers to a passionate subculture of computer programmers who believe in sharing, openness, and innovation (among other things).  Those are three concepts near and dear to us here at… Continue reading H@cking Medicine: Open Up!

How Privacy Impacts Personalized Medicine

“We are standing on the edge of a new information age, and this new information age is going to clash with our existing understanding of concepts such as privacy and how we think about healthcare data and what should be done with it.” – Jamie Heywood PatientsLikeMe Chairman Jamie Heywood recently traveled to Zurich, Switzerland,… Continue reading How Privacy Impacts Personalized Medicine

PatientsLikeMeOnCall™: “A Look Ahead” at Openness in Healthcare (Episode 4)

“I think we can see there are a lot of ways where openness can be powerful.  What’s necessary is to help facilitate openness and reduce the barriers to sharing medical information.” – Ben Heywood PatientsLikeMe Co-Founder Ben Heywood has blogged previously about openness and sharing – and how important they are for patients. In this… Continue reading PatientsLikeMeOnCall™: “A Look Ahead” at Openness in Healthcare (Episode 4)