What is the Think Again. Think NPC campaign?
Think Again. Think NPC is an international campaign, which aims to support healthcare professionals unfamiliar with Niemann-Pick type C disease (NPC) to recognise the key signs and symptoms of NPC. This will help patients by speeding up diagnosis to ultimately optimise care and treatment outcomes.
Why is the Think Again. Think NPC campaign needed?
NP-C is commonly undetected or misdiagnosed. This is often due to its highly variable clinical presentation characterised by a wide range of symptoms that individually are not specific to the disease.
Due to its challenging presentation the journey to diagnosis of NPC can be long and frustrating for patients and their families. The average delay in diagnosis is five to six years from onset of neurological symptoms. This campaign aims to reduce the length of time to diagnosis by supporting healthcare professionals to recognise the symptoms of NPC in order to be able to Think NPC.
Early diagnosis means patients can access support, which can improve their quality of life and the lives of those around them. Early diagnosis is also important as NPC is a treatable disease. Treatment can help to manage the symptoms and can slow down the progression of the disease. Therefore, it is critical that we aim to achieve earlier diagnosis of NPC.
Who is the Think Again. Think NPC campaign targeted at?
The Think Again. Think NPC campaign is targeted at healthcare professionals who might see a patient with NPC, but are unfamiliar with NPC and therefore are currently unable to Think NP-C. Once they suspect a patient has NPC they can then refer that patient on to a specialist centre for diagnostic testing.
"...NPC is commonly undetected or misdiagnosed. This is often due to its highly variable clinical presentation characterised by a wide range of symptoms that individually are not specific to the disease..."
"...Think Again. Think NPC - help us to support earlier diagnosis of Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC), and ensure patients don't miss out on vital treatment and support..."