UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Named Certified Mitochondrial Medicine Center

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has been named a certified Mitochondrial Medicine Center (MMC) and is now part of the newly established, first-of-its-kind Mitochondrial Care Network (MCN).

The MCN represents a significant and exciting step to address the unmet needs of clinical care for many mitochondrial disease patients and will result in better care for the future.

Established by a collaborative effort on behalf of mitochondrial disease professional and patient advocacy groups including: The Foundation for Mitochondrial Medicine, MitoAction, the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, and the Mitochondrial Medicine Society; the Mitochondrial Care Network intends to formally unify clinicians who provide medical care to individuals with mitochondrial diseases; define, design and implement best practices in mitochondrial medicine; and optimize management and care for patients with mitochondrial diseases.

“We are very excited to be a part of the newly established, first-of-its-kind Mitochondrial Care Network of mitochondrial disease specialists,” said Uta Lichter-Konecki, M.D., Ph.D., director of the MCN at UPMC Children’s Hospital. “We have worked with the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation for many years and we look forward to offering nationally recommended treatment to our patients and their families impacted by mitochondrial disease.”

The MCN will be a part of the Center for Rare Disease Therapy at UPMC Children’s, an integrated team of experts who have developed innovative therapies to treat a multitude of rare diseases.

UPMC Children’s joins the following list of hospitals and research centers in the Mitochondrial Care Network: Akron Children’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Cleveland Clinic, Columbia University Medical Center, Children’s National Health System, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Johns Hopkins University/Kennedy Krieger Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Stanford University, University of California San Diego, University of California San Francisco, University of Maryland and the University of Texas McGovern Medical School.

For more information regarding the Mitochondrial Care Network at UPMC Children’s, visit here.