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To date, the LRI is funding
25 top investigators nationwide who are approaching lupus
in new ways, with new eyes. In 2002, the LRI awarded 11 new
grants through its Novel Research Program to help understand
the mechanisms of the disease. These innovative studies fall
into two categories: research to untangle the complex process
that triggers the immune system to mount an attack on the
body's own proteins, cells, tissues and organs, and efforts
to understand more precisely how that attack leads to organ
and tissue damage. The LRI also awarded two additional grants
as part of it Clinical Trials Initiatives. These investigators
are researching clinical trial methodologies for cardiovascular
and kidney disease, two prevalent and dangerous complications
of lupus.
The Alliance
for Lupus Research is dedicated to finding a cure for
lupus. While there have been major advances in our understanding
of lupus, there are still many unanswered research questions.
The Scientific Advisory Board of the Alliance for Lupus Research
has established the following as a "road map" for
discovering better treatments and, ultimately, a cure:
- Susceptibility (Who is at
risk of getting lupus?) Scientists now believe that both
genetic and environmental factors appear to increase an
individual's risk of getting lupus.
- Pathogenesis (What causes
lupus and its complications?) Lupus is an autoimmune disease
in which the immune system malfunctions, causing it to create
"autoantibodies" that attack the body's own healthy
cells and tissues.
- Inflammation and Damage (What
happens in lupus?) A hallmark of lupus is inflammation that
causes redness, swelling, pain and damage of various parts
of the body. Damage to internal organs like the kidney can
cause permanent changes in function.
- Clinical Assessment (How
can we efficiently monitor disease activity and damage?)
Improved tools and methods for assessing the clinical course
of lupus are necessary to study the underlying disease processes,
to develop new therapies, and to help improve patient care.
Currently, clinicians use a variety of methods to monitor
disease activity and disease damage, including clinical
examination, laboratory tests, biopsies, and radiology procedures.
- Treatment (How can we best
treat lupus and its complications?) Lupus is treated with
a broad range of different therapeutic agents but there
are major gaps in scientific understanding about how these
agents work and what are the best forms of treatment for
different manifestations of lupus.
Scientists submit proposals
to identify targets for new therapies in lupus. The recipients
of Alliance research grants receive $500,000 over a two-year
period. The Scientific Advisory Board reviews the progress
of the research at 18 months, and grants showing promise towards
the future development of major, new approaches to the treatment
of lupus may receive increased funding up to $1 million. To
learn more about the Alliance for Lupus Research (www.lupusresearch.org)
and the Lupus Research Institute (www.lupusresearchinstitute.org),
visit their web sites.
We are proud that the Lupus
Foundation of New England can further the work of the Lupus
Research Institute and the Alliance for Lupus Research. We
extend a special thank you to Lee McGraw for facilitating
a major gift from the McGraw Family Foundations to fund lupus
research. back
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