Nick Carbone
It is a rare, inherited, progressive disease affecting one in 50,000 that results in loss of ambulation six to eight years after diagnosis and risk of premature death, with an average lifespan for those who have it of 35 years old.

Local attorney and politician Nicholas J. Carbone was diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia at 12 — when he was still able to walk. He is now 30.

Mr. Carbone is one of 10 people living with Friedreich’s ataxia chosen from across the country, and the only one from Massachusetts, to testify at a recent meeting of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Washington, D.C., attended by more than 25 FDA officials, more than 25 medical researchers and those from pharma, and 140 patients and family members.

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