F or the first time during its unprecedented initiative to find a cure for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the ACR Research and Education Foundation (REF) is releasing new information acquired from research funded by the Within Our Reach campaign.
Doctors and scientists from across the United States are using more than $12 million in grants awarded by the REF to investigate critical issues, including early detection of RA, novel treatment pathways, and improved patient–provider interaction and patient care. Although research is still underway, the REF is encouraged by the progress made thus far and is pleased to announce the new and promising knowledge that RA researchers will continue to build upon as studies continue.
“The REF is committed to funding RA research that is not being done elsewhere and supporting scientists and doctors who are most prepared and motivated to work on finding a cure,” explains Leslie J. Crofford, MD, president of the REF. “The quality and value of the studies in progress are evidence that the Within Our Reach campaign is critical and must continue.”
Today, the Within Our Reach campaign is supporting 30 innovative research studies. Highlights of new information gained from select studies include:
New Treatment Pathways: A study led by Gary Firestein, MD, at the University of California School of Medicine in San Diego, focuses on how the central nervous system can control inflammation—a chronic, damaging, and painful symptom of RA. The study is the first to identify a new pathway that allows the spinal cord and brain to decrease joint inflammation and joint destruction. Now that this pathway is identified, new therapies can be developed to utilize it and mimic the anti-inflammatory effects of the central nervous system.
Early Detection of RA: Successful management of RA requires early medical intervention, and a new study led by Antony Rosen, MD, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, seeks to identify specific pathways that drive RA development and generate tissue damage. Dr. Rosen and his team of researchers are working to define new blood tests to help rheumatologists diagnose RA in its early stages, which will improve their ability to monitor disease activity and prevent early RA from amplifying.
Health Literacy and Patient–Physician Interaction: Edward Yelin, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, is leading the most systematic attempt to date to understand the role that patient–physician communication and health literacy play in understanding disparities in RA treatment and healthcare outcomes for different patient populations. This study compares standard measures of disease activity (such as the degree of joint damage) with assessments of socioeconomic status (such as income, education level and employment status, race/ethnicity of the patient, and the language spoken at home) to explain disparities in care and treatment of RA.