Georgia chapter

Research

A robust medical research effort is essential to find the causes of lupus, develop more effective treatments, and eventually cure the disease.

Research Efforts

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Lupus Foundation of America Launches

Center for Clinical Trials Education 

Information for Potential Study Volunteers, Links to Lupus Trials


Washington, D.C. / August 22, 2008 – The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) has announced the launch of the Center for Clinical Trials Education (CCTE), a resource for people interested in learning about and joining lupus clinical trials.  Click here for more information.

In 2006, the LFA greatly accelerated efforts to stimulate increased public and private support for medical research on lupus. This past year, the LFA:

  • Expanded the Five-Year Research Program by adding another $1 million in direct support to lupus researchers, including: seven new Novel Pilot Projects, two studies on heart and blood vessel disease in women and African Americans with lupus, and nine research sites to study and validate lupus biomarkers.
  • Supported six young investigators through the Gina Finzi Memorial Student Summer Fellowship Program.
  • Stimulated additional Congressional appropriations to provide new funding for lupus research, including an additional $2 million for studies on lupus and lupus biomarkers through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and another $1 million for data collection to determine the prevalence and incidence of lupus through the National Lupus Patient Registry of the U.S. Department of Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  • Convened a group of leading clinical researchers as the first step to building a consensus for a definition of lupus flares.
  • Collaborated with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to educate people with lupus about clinical trials designed to test potential new lupus medications.
  • Finalized plans for the 8th International Congress on Lupus in Shanghai, China.
 
Nationally, our advocacy efforts have led to increased lupus research funding to $6.5 million including $1 million for the Georgia Lupus Registry.
Lupus Foundation of America Provides $2 Million to Support Lupus Research
 
The Lupus Foundation of America’s direct funding of research has grown 100 percent in the past 3 years with $2 million awarded in 2006-08 to 23 investigators at 22 institutions including translational research and bio marker research.
 
To date, the LFA and its chapters have provided more than $16 million to support an ongoing committment to lupus research including studies on lupus biomarker validation, expansion and revision of the diagnostic criteria for lupus, heart and blood vessel disease in women and African Americans with lupus. Find out more about the Lupus Foundation of America's research efforts on lupus.org.
 
Georgia Lupus Registry

Each of the registries represents a different geographic area and contains large number of people at risk for lupus. The Georgia registry is led by the division of Rheumatology at Emory University in partnership with the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR).

The Georgia Lupus Registry (GLR) aims to develop, implement, and support a population based disease registry to determine the prevalence and incidence of systemic lupus within Fulton, DeKalb, and Richmond (Augusta) counties. Acting as public health agents under the auspices of GA DHR, the registry will identify as many hospitals and practitioners as possible who are providing care to potential lupus patients. These are rheumatologists, nephrologists, dermatologists, obstetricians, cardiologists, neurologists, and hematologists, as well as internists and primary care physicians. The LFA Georgia chapter helps identify patients and their healthcare providers.

The results of the Georgia Lupis Registry and biomarker research funded by the Department of Defense could help accelerate the introduction of new therapies and treatment of lupus patients. There has not been a new FDA approved drug for lupus for over 40 years.

 

Sam Lim MD, MPH, Assistant Professor Medicine
at Emory and Chair of the LFA Georgia Chapter's
Medical Advisory Board

 

Read the Wall Street Journal Article "Drugs in testing show promise for treating lupus" - Dr. Sam Lim quoted.