Patients with prolonged, undiagnosed medical conditions can sign up online for new national program to solve case

HOUSTON - (Sep. 16, 2015) - Online applications are now being accepted for a National Institutes of Health program that will seek to solve mysterious medical conditions with a genetic basis.

Often such condition send children and parents on a long medical odyssey as they seek to find out the source of their physical and development problems. A network of clinical and research centers across the country including Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, will work to find answers.

In July 2014, the institutions received a $7.3 million, four-year grant to participate in this effort called the Undiagnosed Disease Network. Baylor, which is home to the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center, will also serve as one of two DNA sequencing facilities for the network.

Approximately 50 patients will be accepted each year. For more information and to apply for the program, click here.

"This network brings experts from across the country together to help solve the most difficult medical cases," said Dr. Brendan Lee, chair of molecular and human genetics at Baylor and the lead investigator at the College. "We hope to play an important by bringing together our renowned experts in genetics, pediatrics and neurology at Baylor and Texas Children's Hospital."

Called the Undiagnosed Disease Network Gateway, the application system sets the stage for the network to advance its core mission: to diagnose patients who suffer from conditions that even skilled physicians have been unable to diagnose despite extensive tests and investigations. These diseases are difficult for doctors to diagnose because they are rarely seen, have not previously been described or are unrecognized forms of more common diseases.

Other institutions with Undiagnosed Disease Network clinical sites include: the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD; Harvard Teaching Hospitals in Boston, Mass. (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital); Duke University in Durham, N.C.; Stanford University, in Palo Alto, Calif.; The University of California in Los Angeles and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.

About Texas Children’s Hospital

Texas Children’s Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children’s hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children’s has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women’s health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Center for pediatric research; Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, a second community hospital planned to open in 2017. The organization also created the nation’s first HMO for children, has the largest pediatric primary care network in the country and a global health program that’s channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children’s Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.