MG Links

MGFA National Foundation  The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) is the only national volunteer health agency dedicated solely to the fight against myasthenia gravis. MGFA has over 30 Chapters around the United States serving patients and their families and caregivers through support groups and programs. Each chapter is independently operated, but each shares the vision of a world without MG.

National Health Council  The National Health Council is the only organization of its kind that brings together all segments of the health care community to provide a united voice for the more than 100 million people with chronic diseases and disabilities and their family caregivers. Made up of 120 national health-related organizations, its core membership includes 50 of the nation’s leading patient advocacy groups. Other members include professional and membership associations, nonprofit organizations with an interest in health, and major pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology companies. The National Health Council brings together diverse stakeholders within the health community to work for health care that meets the personal needs and goals of people with chronic diseases and disabilities.

Community Health Charities  In the early 1940s, the federal government began to set up tables where federal employees received their paychecks. The government did this to make it simple for federal employees to make a donation to local charities that were important to them. In 1957, twelve national health charities banded together to create the National Voluntary Health Agencies (NVHA), creating what is known as a federation. Today, more than 34 federations work with the federal government's Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), which is recognized as the largest workplace giving campaign in the World, raising more than $265 million a year. Community Health Charities annually distributes more than $60 million of all public sector contributions, making it one of the campaign's largest partners. In the private sector in 1983, the idea of a federation also became appealing to corporations who wanted to make it easy for their employees to give to local charities. The administrative and clerical cost associated with setting up, managing and maintaining relationships with dozens of charities to implement such a campaign could create a significant burden to the corporation. Similar to the public sector, 13 national health charities banded together to form the Combined Health Appeal (CHA) to provide support and services to private sector corporations to conduct workplace giving. In 1998 NVHA & CHA merged, making Community Health Charities the largest workplace giving collaborative with a focus on health issues. Over the past 5 years, CHC has distributed more than $330 million to is member charities.

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association  The AARDA is the only national nonprofit health agency dedicated to bringing a national focus to autoimmunity, the major cause of serious chronic diseases. Approximately 50 million Americans, 20 percent of the population or one in five people, suffer from autoimmune diseases. Women are more likely than men to be affected; some estimates say that 75 percent of those affected--some 30 million people--are women. Still, with these statistics, autoimmunity is rarely discussed as a women's health issue.

National Organization for Rare Disorders The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), a 501(c)3 organization, is a unique federation of voluntary health organizations dedicated to helping people with rare "orphan" diseases and assisting the organizations that serve them. NORD is committed to the identification, treatment, and cure of rare disorders through programs of education, advocacy, research, and service.

CuraVac (Blalock) Vaccine CuraVac is an innovative young company founded to take a newly discovered technique for creating therapeutic vaccines against autoimmune diseases from discovery through to being available for the treatment of humans.
Typical autoimmune diseases that should be treatable by CuraVac vaccines include myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosis.
The pioneering vaccine, already in development, is for the treatment of myasthenia gravis

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital  Neuromuscular diseases affect the nerves and muscles, causing pain, weakness, numbness, and other symptoms. Neuromuscular diseases often result in neuropathy, a term which refers to nerves which are not functioning for no apparent reason. The Neuromuscular Service at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital provides care for people suffering from neuromuscular diseases, including: * Neuropathy * Diabetic neuropathy * Myopathy * ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) * Myasthenia gravis * Guillain Barre syndrome