Eosinophils: Friend or Foe? Eosinophilic Disorders By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD, MSPH Eosinophils are amazing, power-packed cells of the innate immune system. Loaded with granules of cytokines, chemokines, RNAses, cationic proteins, growth factors and more, these leukocytes were thought to be the body’s primary tool to destroy parasites. Now, however, eosinophils are being [...]
What’s one of the top ten mysterious diseases? Sarcoidosis By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD, MSPH Rare disease sufferers may be few in number for a particular condition, but they are an army of survivors when they’re together. Sarcoidosis is one of the 3000 rare diseases represented in Inspire’s community. With 600,000 Inspire members [...]
Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Lens: Living with Sarcoidosis “Imagine being in a crowd and wishing you were invisible, but you’re marked, and there is nowhere you can hide.” Shanene Higgins wrote that in her essay “Marked: My scars remind me of my purpose,” part of Inspire’s 2017 Experts by Experience eBook. [...]
Rare Disease and Social Media: Making Connections Being Alone and Disempowered Keeping illness, pain and suffering a secret for years is the reality for many people with rare diseases. Now, on social media, they are writing about it, sharing the desperation and the hurt. And they are finding each other in [...]
