Prevalence and Incidence of MELAS

MELAS: Rare Disease

MELAS is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that MELAS, or a subtype of MELAS, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.

Ophanet, who are a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when if affects 1 person per 2,000. They list MELAS as a "rare disease". More information about MELAS is available from Orphanet

About prevalence and incidence statistics:

The term 'prevalence' of MELAS usually refers to the estimated population of people who are managing MELAS at any given time. The term 'incidence' of MELAS refers to the annual diagnosis rate, or the number of new cases of MELAS diagnosed each year. Hence, these two statistics types can differ: a short-lived disease like flu can have high annual incidence but low prevalence, but a life-long disease like diabetes has a low annual incidence but high prevalence. For more information see about prevalence and incidence statistics.

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