What’s in a name?

We’re now the FSHD Society

Discerning readers will notice that we have changed our name and logo to align with how the rest of the world abbreviates facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. This is not simply an exercise in trendiness. When we were the FSH Society, we led the charge for using “FSHD,” providing a single, consistent name for doctors, patients, and researchers to call the condition.

In the Internet era, having one common name makes FSHD more searchable. And, as it happens, searching for “FSH” pulls up an unrelated medical term: follicle stimulating hormone. Today, it is critically important that patients and families be able to find us at the top of the search results page, hence the name change. Because we have already done the hard work of getting the world to adopt the term FSHD, we hope the transition will feel natural.

Our new logo reflects our evolution, being modeled closely on our previous logo but with fresh colors and a more conspicuous torch, symbolizing the Society’s role as a leader, lighting the way. The flame gathers individuals together into a community and illuminates the knowledge to develop treatments and empower people to live their best lives. Onward!