Ann and Ken Slaw, in conjunction with other Familial Dysautonomia (FD) families and friends founded the FD NOW Fund at Partnership for Cures to raise funds to support research that will drive better treatments and cures for patients with FD in two years or less.

FD is caused by mutations in the gene that produces a critical molecule called the IKAP protein. The genetic mutation significantly reduces the amount of IKAP protein whose presence is necessary to control the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls bodily functions that happen without our thinking about them, such as beating of the heart, breathing, movement through the digestive system, and the production of tears. The reduced production of IKAP protein is responsible for the devastating disease termed FD.

Significant progress has already been made in the Laboratory for Familial Dysautonomia Research at Fordham University by Drs. Berish Rubin and Sylvia Anderson, who discovered two natural, ingestible and readily available compounds that increase the amount of functional IKAP protein.  They have also created a nutritional regimen that eliminates substances such as tyramine and MSG that trigger FD crises.

Join FD NOW and help fund research to develop better treatments and cures for this devastating disease in two years or less! 

• Success Story of Familial Dysautonomia (FD) Research
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