Patient Registry
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Resources
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Webinar Series - VCP Patient & Caregiver Conference
What is VCP Disease?
VCP Disease is a rare genetic disease, which can affect a patient's muscles, bones and brain. It is an autosomal dominant neuromuscular disease. The exact number of patients currently diagnosed with this disease is unknown worldwide. Leading researchers believe there is a significant number of patients with the VCP mutation being misdiagnosed as Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, myositis or other myopathies.
VCP Disease is caused by a mutation in a gene called Valosin Containing Protein (VCP or p97). The VCP gene provides instructions for producing the VCP enzyme. The VCP enzyme is involved in a wide variety of important cellular activities such as cell division and mitochondrial function. One of VCP's most critical jobs is to help break down proteins that are abnormal or no longer needed. When the VCP gene is mutated, these cellular functions are disrupted leading to several possible symptoms and disorders.
VCP Disease primarily manifests as IBMPFD, which identifies the three primary disorders originally associated with the disease: Inclusion Body Myopathy, Paget's Disease of Bone, and Frontotemporal Dementia. Researchers also categorize this disease as Multisystem Proteinopathy (MSP1) because it is a protein disorder that affects multiple body systems. A person with VCP Disease may have one, two, or all of these disorders. There are no known cures or treatments for myopathy or dementia, but there is an approved treatment for Paget's disease of bone and there are therapies that may help delay the symptoms.
A genetic connection has now been established between VCP Disease and more common disorders such as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinsonism Disease, hereditary spastic paraplegia, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, cardiomyopathy, cataracts, and neuropathy. Learning more about VCP Disease may not only help advance the treatment of IBMPFD but also several disorders.
Patient Support
These meetings are a way to connect with VCP families around the world and share experiences. There is no agenda or drink required.
Because we have members all over the world, we will be offering two separate happy hours as follows:
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Happy Hour 1: Wed, Sep 16, 2020 @ 8:00 PM Eastern Time
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Happy Hour 2: Sat, Sep 19, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time
We look forward to seeing you then!
To attend and get the zoom log-in info: Click one of the below sessions:
Confused about time zones? Click here for a time zone converter https://time.is/compare
VCP & ME
VCP patient, Todd Warner, has produced videos and created a website to help others cope with VCP disease.
Several VCP families have shared their personal stories, struggles and triumphs on our blog.
