Developing interactions with industry in rare diseases: lessons learned and continuing challenges.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network to address the unique challenges of performing research on rare diseases. The Urea Cycle Disorders Consortium (UCDC) was one of the original ten consortia established. The UCDC represents a unique partnership among clinicians, patients, and the NIH with a primary goal of increasing the development of therapeutics that improve patient outcomes for persons affected with a UCD.

Impact of Diagnosis and Therapy on Cognitive Function in Urea Cycle Disorders.

Objective: Individuals with urea cycle disorders (UCDs) often present with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The major aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions on cognitive outcomes in UCDs.

Methods: This prospective, observational, multicenter study includes data from 503 individuals with UCDs who had comprehensive neurocognitive testing with a cumulative follow-up of 702 patient-years.

Transatlantic combined and comparative data analysis of 1095 patients with urea cycle disorders-A successful strategy for clinical research of rare diseases.

Background: To improve our understanding of urea cycle disorders (UCDs) prospectively followed by two North American (NA) and European (EU) patient cohorts.

Aims: Description of the NA and EU patient samples and investigation of the prospects of combined and comparative analyses for individuals with UCDs.

Methods: Retrieval and comparison of the data from 1095 individuals (NA: 620, EU: 475) from two electronic databases.

A longitudinal study of urea cycle disorders.

The Urea Cycle Disorders Consortium (UCDC) is a member of the NIH funded Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network and is performing a longitudinal study of 8 urea cycle disorders (UCDs) with initial enrollment beginning in 2006. The consortium consists of 14 sites in the U.S.

Establishing a consortium for the study of rare diseases: The Urea Cycle Disorders Consortium.

The Urea Cycle Disorders Consortium (UCDC) was created as part of a larger network established by the National Institutes of Health to study rare diseases. This paper reviews the UCDC's accomplishments over the first 6years, including how the Consortium was developed and organized, clinical research studies initiated, and the importance of creating partnerships with patient advocacy groups, philanthropic foundations and biotech and pharmaceutical companies.