Guide Note:Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic disorder which causes the skin to become fragile, causing painful blisters to form at the slightest touch. EB usually manifests itself in children. Blisters can also develop inside the body. Most sufferers of the disease don't survive past the age of 30. Experts believe that stem cell research offers the promise to treat the disease. On March 21, 2008, married actors David Arquette and Courteney Cox challenged members of the entertainment community to raise $1 million in two weeks for the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation. Other members of the foundation include Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Kate Beckinsale, Rashida Jones, James Marsden, Eva Longoria and Gwen Stefani.

Fast Facts:

1. Most sufferers die by the age of 30
2. EB characterized by painful blisters on the skin
3. Blisters can develop inside the body
4. Children are the worst affected
5. English sufferer Johnny Kennedy wrote a book about his struggles with the ailment, The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off.
6. The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off was made into a British TV documentary
7. Johnny Kennedy was born with no skin on his left leg
8. Kennedy died of cancer in 2003, at the age of 36
9. No. of sufferers in U.S.: 12,500
10. Severe forms of EB have 87% mortality risk in first year of life
11. Stem cell therapy offers promise for EB sufferers

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