Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs

Rare Diseases in Aging

Aging is a collection of degenerative changes that occur in organisms that lack the ability to perpetually regenerate. Age is a major risk factor for most common neurodegenerative diseases. Dementia becomes more common with age. The spectrum includes mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular disease, Parkinson's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease. Rare diseases provide much insight into the cellular processes that hasten the aging process.