Celebrating 40 Years with Our Family

The 2022 NFED Family Conferece was a great success. Every year, the NFED invites the families it serves to convene at the conference to learn and most importantly, to connect. We laughed, we cried, we danced, and we can’t wait to see you next year!

Forty Years of Driving Ectodermal Dysplasias Research

As we celebrate our 40th anniversary and reflect on the journey to this point, we can say with certainty that no other entity in the world has driven ectodermal dysplasias research more than the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias (NFED). It’s been our honor to lead. Yet, the gratitude goes to the families who volunteered for studies, the curious researchers who strived to make a difference, and the donors who funded the vision. Let’s look at four decades of advancing research!

Why Women Need to Know if They Carry the Gene Variant for XLHED

For the first time, women who have the gene variant for x-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasias (XLHED) have another option to consider when they are family planning. They can choose to participate in a clinical trial called EDELIFE where researchers are testing a potential therapy in-utero on male fetuses with the condition! Find out how the condition can be inherited and how you can learn if you are a carrier.

The NFED Continues to Expand in Its First Decade

Our conversation with NFED founder Mary Kaye Richter and her son, Charley Richter, continues as we look back at the NFED in the 1980s. They share what it took for the Foundation to grow and thrive and the people that made it happen. Read how Richter’s can-do spirit drove the NFED’s success and inspired parents to expect great things for their children.

The Baby With XLHED Who Now Sweats

Laura Reiser grew up watching her dad struggle with the heat since he couldn’t sweat due to x-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED). When she became pregnant with a boy who also had XLHED, she and her husband, Milo, decided to participate in research that would potentially restore their unborn son’s sweat glands. Learn how another NFED mom helped them decide to do it, how baby Bennett is doing and how it’s impacted his “Papa.”

How Our NFED Family Came To Be

What was it like to be diagnosed with ectodermal dysplasia in the early 1980s? NFED founder, Mary Kaye Richter, looks back at the Foundation’s humble beginnings, its first decade of accomplishments and the extraordinary people and circumstances that fueled its success.

Awareness. Advocacy. Action.

February is upon us, and the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias (NFED) has a lot going on! In honor of Ectodermal Dysplasias Awareness Month (EDAM), please help us spread the word about these rare conditions and join us in raising up this incredible community through research, advocacy and more.

Why Genetic Testing is Critical in HED

If you or someone you love is affected by hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED), a doctor or dentist may have made the clinical diagnosis based on symptoms. Or, maybe HED runs in your family and you “just know” that you or your child have it. So, why would you want to get genetic testing to confirm the diagnosis? There are many benefits. But, most importantly because the first treatment for the X-linked recessive type of HED is being studied in a clinical trial.