Rare Disease Day: February 2015
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 Rare Disease Day takes place on the last day of February each year. The main objective being to raise awareness about rare diseases and their impact on patients' lives.
Approximately 1 in 10 Americans and 250 million people worldwide are afflicted by a rare disease. A rare disease is any disease that affects a very small percentage of the population. In the US, a disease is defined as rare when it affects fewer than 200,000 Americans. Most of these rare diseases are genetic in origin, implying a chronic condition, and greatly impact children. Tragically 30% of children with a rare disease do not reach their 5th birthday.
Find out how you can get involved for Rare Disease Day here.
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Have you signed into your volunteer account lately? We've made a few changes and it's now easier to navigate your dashboard and manage your profile - check it out here!
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Have You Made a Resolution for the New Year?
Your New Year's resolutions may be full of promise on January 1, but a few weeks have passed - how are you hanging in there?
About 45 percent of Americans make New Year's resolutions and experts say the very act of making resolutions improves your odds of success. "Studies show that people who resolve to change behaviors do much better than non-resolvers who have the same habits that need to be changed," says University of Scranton psychologist John Norcross. Studies also suggest that the best way to stick to your resolutions is to set a number of smaller more obtainable goals that add up over time. Cutting back on junk food or taking a walk at lunch time are two great ways to start working towards a healthier 2015.
Of course, we at RM have another suggestion on how you can help improve your health and the health of others: volunteer for clinical research! If you're already a volunteer, make it a goal to spread the word to friends and family and get them involved. It's easy! Research can only get so far without volunteers but with your generous contribution, researchers can move discovery forward.
From all of us on the ResearchMatch Team, we wish you a healthy new year! Research could not happen without you, our volunteers. We have an exciting year ahead - let's make 2015 the best one yet! Get Matched!
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ResearchMatch Collaborates with CCFA
CCFA is a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to curing Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and improving the quality of life of children and adults affect by those diseases. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis affect as many as 1.4 million Americans each year. The exact cause of these chronic, life-long conditions is not entirely understood, but is known to involve an interaction between genes, the immune system and environmental factors. Although great strides have been made to improve treatment of the condition, research volunteers are needed to help find a cure and improve the quality of life for those affected by IBD. 
CCFA and ResearchMatch plan to collaborate on a number of volunteer focused initiatives, including educational sessions, Condition Connections, and dissemination of research results. Stay tuned as we roll out the next phase of our partnership in 2015!
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Condition Connection: Patent Foramen Ovale
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We've launched a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) Condition Connection in collaboration with the PFO Research Foundation!
PFO affects about 25 percent of the general population in the United States each year. PFO is a small opening in the wall of the heart that separates the two upper chambers and is due to a persistence of the fetal circulation where a flap-like opening does not close as it should after birth. Patients with a PFO are more likely to experience cerbrovascular complications including stroke and migraine.
Bray Patrick-Lake, President and CEO of PFO Research Foundation states that "Research plays a vital role in understanding disease, developing new treatments, and helping patients improve their care and achieve desired outcomes. Unfortunately, research is often slowed or fails to be completed when researchers cannot find patients for their studies. One of the most powerful things a patient community can do is create a way for researchers to discover them. Creating a community of PFO patients in ResearchMatch will allow us to connect with researchers interested in studying our condition. Together, with ResearchMatch, we can advance science and improve care and outcomes for patients with PFO."
Volunteers who have registered with a condition connected to the PFO Condition Connection will be offered the opportunity to answer several targeted questions designed to help make a more precise match with researchers.
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