The FOP Connection Registry: Design of an international patient-sponsored registry for Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva

The Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) Connection Registry is an international, voluntary, observational study that directly captures demographic and disease information initially from patients with FOP (the patient portal) and in the near future from treating physicians (the physician portal) via a secure web-based tool. It was launched by the International FOP Association (IFOPA) with a guiding vision to develop and manage one unified, global, and coordinated Registry allowing the assembly of the most comprehensive data on FOP. This will ultimately facilitate greater access and sharing of patient data and enable better and faster development of therapies and tracking their long-term treatment effectiveness and safety. This report outlines the FOP Connection Registry's design and procedures for data collection and reporting, as well as the long-term sustainability of Registry. Patient-reported, aggregate data are summarized for the first 196 enrolled patients, representing participation from 42 countries and approximately 25% of the world's known FOP population. Fifty-seven percent of the current Registry participants are female with a mean age of 23.8. years (median = 21. years, range = 1, 76. years). Among the Registry participants who provided their FOP type, 51% reported FOP Classic (R206H), 41% reported FOP Type Unknown, and 8% reported FOP Variant. Patients reported 5.4. years (median = 3.0. years, range = 0, 45.8. years) as the mean age at which they noticed their first FOP symptoms and a mean age at final FOP diagnosis of 7.5. years (median = 5.0. years, range = 0.1, 48.4. years). Information on the patients' diagnostic journeys in arriving at a correct diagnosis of FOP is also presented. These early patient-reported data suggest that the IFOPA's vision of one, unified, global, and coordinated approach to the FOP Connection Registry is well underway to being realized. In addition, the positive response from the FOP patient community to the initial launch of the Registry's patient portal has created a solid foundation upon which to build the largest international registry for monitoring the clinical progression of FOP among patients

225th ENMC international workshop:: A global FSHD registry framework, 18â20 November 2016, Heemskerk, The Netherlands

On 18–20 November 2016, the 225th ENMC Workshop on ‘A global FSHD Registry framework’ took place in Heemskerk, the Netherlands. Twenty-two participants from 11 different countries gathered, including clinicians, researchers, policy makers and representatives from patient advocacy groups and industry. Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an inherited muscle disorder. Expansion of our knowledge on the (epi)genetic mechanism underlying FSHD has led to advances in identifying (targeted) therapeutic strategies. Consequently it is now important to develop a ‘clinical trial toolbox’, consisting of patient registries, biomarkers and clinical outcome measures to ensure resources are utilized effectively The wide phenotypic expression in rare diseases, such as FSHD, means that patient registries are particularly important for clinical trial readiness. The aims of this workshop were to analyze the experience and results of the existing FSHD patient registries, update the Treat-NMD recommended dataset for FSHD, increase collaboration among established research groups and patient advocacy organizations and create the foundation on which to establish a global registry for FSHD