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PatientsLikeMe Launches Community for People with Fibromyalgia
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., December 08, 2008
PatientsLikeMe, the leading online community for patients with life-changing conditions, announces the launch of its newest community for people with fibromyalgia. Patients can chart the course of their disease by answering simple questions about their experience and adding their treatments and symptoms to their profile. All profiles are shared within the community so patients can find others like them and learn from each other.
“There is no question fibromyalgia patients are experiencing significant debilitating symptoms,” says Co-founder James Heywood. “We have the potential to understand this disease in a way that helps advance its treatment.”
As part of its launch activities this week, PatientsLikeMe has a blog series, “Voices of Fibromyalgia,” devoted to the disease from the patient perspective. Tomorrow’s blog features a Q&A with triathlete and fibromyalgia patient Minnie Lee. "PatientsLikeMe has massive potential to be a crucial resource for fibromyalgia patients by having every possible symptom and treatment laid out in one central source," says Lee.
PatientsLikeMe, which launched its first community for patients with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in 2006, is rapidly expanding. In 2008 alone, PatientsLikeMe has launched customized communities for people with HIV, depression and bipolar (and other mood-related conditions), a series of orphan diseases (PSP, MSA and Devic’s) and fibromyalgia. All communities are free to join.
The company and its expansion is profiled in this week’s BusinessWeek magazine and featured in a 12/5/08 segment on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
About Minnie Lee
Minnie Lee was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in late 2002, with first symptoms starting as early as 1998. She began participating in adventure races in 2005 after she almost lost her job due to absenteeism due to fibromyalgia. Participating first in 10Ks and eventually half-marathons and triathlons, Minnie runs to raise awareness about fibromyalgia and act as a beacon of hope for others with the condition. Her blog, TriBeyondLimits, chronicles her experience with fibromyalgia and she shares her PatientsLikeMe profile for all to view.
About PatientsLikeMe
PatientsLikeMe (www.patientslikeme.com) is the leading online health community for patients with life-changing conditions. PatientsLikeMe creates new knowledge by charting the real-world course of disease through the shared experiences of patients with ALS, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, HIV, mood conditions (including depression, bipolar, anxiety, OCD and PTSD), fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis. While patients interact to help improve their outcomes, the data they provide helps researchers learn how these diseases act in the real world. PatientsLikeMe endeavors to create the largest repository of real-world disease information to help accelerate the discovery of new, more effective treatments.