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Welcome to VMP

VMP provides the diagnosis and management of children and adults with rare genetic disorders, whether through direct patient care or physician support services. Genetics is an ever evolving field, as well as VMP. Please check back often as we continue to update our website.

Shades of Grief: Echoes of Hope in the Darkness has been released!   Click here to purchase.

Chronicles Frances Dougherty Kendall, M.D.’s walk through the complexities of death and dying and loss, grief, and hope. This personal journey begins with the loss of a beloved patient in Boston, the death of her parents, her own cancer, and ends with recovery and hope. The various pieces are accompanied by her husband, Michael Kendall‘s original photography, each photo capturing a component of the emotion of a given work to enhance the depth of feeling experienced.

The author was driven by her experience to provide a modicum of comfort, peace, and joy through her words to many struggling with the most human of all experiences - grief. A fellow physician, Dr. Emma Neish, said of the manuscript, “It is so raw and honest and it beautifully captures the human experience of grief.  I think a lot of people will relate to these words and I think they will be healing for many souls.”

Please consider supporting small publishers by purchasing directly at RoseDog Books (click here). It is also available on Amazon.  

 

Free Online Metabolic Training!

Click here for more details

We make the complex... easy. As practicing physicians ourselves with decades of experience specifically in metabolic disorders, it is not theory to us. We understand what you really need to know to improve your patient care.

Not just for MDs! Nurses/nurse practitioners, physician assistants, genetic counselors, dietitians, and their trainees, are especially welcome, but physician, research, and corporate applicants are invited to participate as well.

Direct Patient Care

VMP Genetics Direct Patient Care is led by a pioneer in the field, Dr Fran Kendall. Direct Patient Care specializes in children & adults from around the world with mitochondrial disorders, ehlers-danlos syndromes, connective tissue disorders, rare genetic, metabolic, & inherited disorders completely independent from the politics of large institutions and hospitals...

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Education Services

VMP Genetics Education Services is led by Dr Mark Korson. Education Services create and provide innovative teaching approaches to healthcare providers so they may so they may participate more confidently in the diagnosis and

 

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Physician Support Services

VMP Genetics Physician Support Services is led by Dr Mark Korson. Physician Support Services providing on-call metabolic diagnosis and management assistance to hospitals and institutions through the use of 

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Blog

Know Your Facts!

Dr Fran Kendall posts on various topics involving rare diseases, treatments, management and

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VMP History & Mission

VMP is the brainchild of Dr. Fran Kendall and her husband Michael Kendall. Dr Kendall is a renowned expert in genetics for over 25 years and former founder and owner of a successful genetic laboratory & clinical practice. Our mission is to extend the reach of rare and specialized healthcare to an under served population while retaining the best of old fashion medicine. We do this through direct patient care, education outreach to healthcare professionals, and support services to hospitals and institutions utilizing readily available and cost effective technology.

Statement on the COVID-19 Vaccine

UPDATE: August 16, 2021

We are not involved in the direct management of Covid positive patients. While certain therapeutic modalities are available for outpatient management, such as monoclonal antibody therapy, its use is restricted and limited to certain patient populations based on CDC and FDA recommendations. Other therapeutics may also have restrictions. Please contact your PCP, local urgent care, or ED or hospital system for information on management of your Covid related symptoms. For those patients with long Covid syndrome, there are emerging clinics and programs around the country to manage your ongoing problems. In the metro Atlanta area, Piedmont Hospital has such a program.

Booster Statement: Please see the CDC website for updates to this evolving process. Up to today, it was ONLY available for certain immunocompromised patients to include those with HIV or cancer. Today it changed to recommending that people receive a booster after 8 months from their original vaccine.  Please see the CDC, the NIH, or your local community health department for ongoing and the most current recommendations. 

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Many are asking questions about the vaccine. An excellent source of information is from the CDC, the White House Coronavirus Task Force, the NIH, or your local community health department.

From our perspective on December 14th, 2020 and as a general rule, the mitochondrial and other chronic complex disease patients we personally follow who have contracted COVID are getting sicker and requiring more intervention than their age matched controls. This finding is consistent with a study looking at Down syndrome patients who similarly developed more severe problems at younger ages. Of note, one of my adult patients has developed long COVID syndrome with fatigue, concentration and focusing issues and worsening autonomic problems following his recovery from active infection.

In regards to the reaction to the vaccine, one of our patients who participated in the Moderna trial developed 103F fever, was sick for days, but fully recovered within a week. As is consistent with other reports, these patients are developing a mild COVID phenotype. That is the extend of the data I have to date from our patients.

Those patients who are critically ill or very unstable baseline (intractable seizures that worsen with illness, for example) may wish to defer the vaccine in initial phases to prevent decompensation from the onset of a COVID phenotype post immunization. Other more stable patients may consider their general exposure risk (i.e. are they in health care or work in the critical supply chain) in the context of their health issues, the mental and physical fatigue of isolation, their age, and previous response to immunizations and illness. Unfortunately, we are unable to decide individual risks for any one person due to a lack of adequate data surrounding the various COVID-19 vaccinations. Such data will likely take months or years to obtain and is, therefore, unavailable at this time to assist with decision making.  As such, ultimately the decision to receive the vaccination is up to you, the patient and the family. We, the medical community, are here only to provide you with the information as we know and understand the information at any given time.

Fran D. Kendall, M.D.

Cold and Flu Alert

Cold and Flu Alert

The key for those with mito that may have the flu or other viral illness such as a cold is to be aggressive with treatment. The flu and colds will sap energy and whatever can be done to either provide increased energy or to prevent energy being consumed will help. As with all children or adults with fevers, fever control and fluids are necessary to prevent dehydration. Allow plenty of rest. If you or your child are unable to control fever or maintain hydration by mouth (or by G or J tube) contact your local primary care provider or be evaluated in your local ER since additional intravenous fluids, fever management medications or blood work may be necessary to prevent complications and allow a rapid return to one’s usual state of health.