About the Center

The Dysautonomia Treatment and Evaluation Center is recognized as an international Center of Excellence for familial dysautonomia (FD) and other genetic disorders affecting sensory and autonomic function.

The Center was established at NYU Medical Center in 1969 to provide care to individuals affected with familial dysautonomia (FD). FD is a genetic disorder that affects the development and survival of sensory and autonomic nerve cells. Affected individuals have difficulty with involuntary actions such as swallowing, breathing, production of tears, and the regulation of blood pressure and body temperature. They also have problems with some sensory functions such as taste and the perception of pain, heat, and cold.

Familial dysautonomia is also called hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN), type III. This is the only Center for FD in the United States and thus serves as a resource for patients and physicians worldwide in assessing and treating FD.

In addition, expertise has been developed in assessment of other sensory and autonomic disorders so that the Center is now a referral center for other hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies (HSAN) and for other pediatric disorders with autonomic dysfunction.

The Dysautonomia Center at NYU is largely funded by the Dysautonomia Foundation, whose mission is to ensure clinical care, medical treatment and scientific research for the benefit of FD patients. To this end the Foundation has established dedicated treatment facilities in the USA at NYU Medical Center and in Israel at Hadassah University-Mt. Scopus, which serve as centers of excellence.

For more information about autonomic disorders visit the American Autonomic Society Web site.