This Center unites the three essential elements of medical progress- diagnosis , treatment , and research . In most other medical centers around the world, these three elements are isolated because the individual physicians and scientists are all working toward separate goals. The physicians and scientists of the Center at UCSD are all working toward a common goal- to understand and develop more effective treatments for mitochondrial and metabolic disease. This is accomplished through a unified program of patient care. When a child is stricken with a catastrophic disease, it can take weeks, months, or even years before the diagnosis of mitochondrial disease is reached.
Many children die before the correct diagnosis is made.
A second child in the family is sometimes tragically affected before the possibility of a metabolic disease is considered. While most physicians can easily recognize cancer when they see it, very few physicians are yet able to recognize mitochondrial disease. Moreover, very few medical centers are equipped to offer the specialized diagnostic, treatment, and research facilities required for the comprehensive management of children with mitochondrial disease. The Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center at UCSD was designed to fill this need. The Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center at UCSD has the goal of raising a substantial amount of money over the next two years to expand its clinical services and support research.