The single biggest barrier in rare disease? Awareness. It’s time to change that.

“There is a fundamental moral driver and an economic imperative to care more about rare diseases.” - Dr. Gareth Baynam. Rare disease isn’t rare when you look closer. Beyond the moral responsibility, the economic costs are enormous, and action can’t wait. Join us in driving change.

🧬 Let’s talk about AChR, short for acetylcholine receptor. It’s a protein that lives on the surface of muscle cells and plays a vital role in helping your muscles move. When a nerve wants a muscle to contract, it releases a chemical signal called acetylcholine. AChRs are the receptors that catch that signal and trigger the muscle to respond. But what happens when this system gets disrupted? In myasthenia gravis, the immune system mistakenly attacks AChRs. Antibodies block or destroy the receptors, breaking the connection between nerves and muscles. This leads to muscle weakness that gets worse with activity and affects parts of the body like the eyes, face, throat, and limbs. Common symptoms include: • Drooping eyelids • Slurred speech • Trouble swallowing or breathing • Fatigue that worsens over time This is more than just feeling tired. It’s a serious autoimmune condition that can be difficult to diagnose. Why it matters: Autoantibodies against AChR are found in most people with myasthenia gravis. By studying this interaction at the molecular level, we can improve diagnosis and create more targeted treatments. At Rare Compute, we are focusing on myasthenia gravis to better understand how proteins like AChR are affected, and how computational tools can help accelerate earlier detection and more precise therapies.