Lupus-Related Cardiovascular Research
Research on lupus and heart disease is advancing in part due to the Foundation’s early support of this area of research. We now know that Inflammation is a major factor in heart disease in the general population. The inflammatory proteins that are responsible for the developing lupus may also be playing a role in the premature heart disease seen in young women with lupus, who have a fifty-fold increase risk of heart attacks, compare to women in the general population. Moreover, the good cholesterol that is generally thought to be beneficial in the general population is abnormal in many people with lupus. Thanks to this new information, we are now better able to manage lupus and improve the quality of life for those affected by the disease.
Funding Period: October 1, 2005 - September 30, 2008
Betty P. Tsao, Ph.D.
Professor, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
Effects of Statin and ApoA-1 Mimetic Peptide in a Mouse Model of Heart Disease in Lupus
The researchers have established ApoE-/Fas-/-C57BL/6 mice that on a normal chow diet spontaneously develop aortic lesions, autoantibodies to dsDNA and cardiolipin, and renal abnormalities. Using these mice as a model for atherosclerosis in lupus patients, researchers will test effects of placebo, pravastatin apolipoprotein A1 mimetic peptide D-4F, or both combined on atherosclerosis and lupus-like phenotypes. Changes in phenotypes in these four treated groups will be correlated to various laboratory tests using their blood samples for the identification of potential biomarkers for the disease processes. Results from these studies are likely to further researchers' understanding of heart disease in lupus patients.
Funding Period: October 1, 2005 - September 30, 2008
James C. Oates, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina
Biomarkers of Reactive Nitrogen and Oxygen Stress as Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in African Americans with Lupus
Heart attacks and strokes occur more frequently in lupus patients than in the general population. Predicting who will develop "hardening of the arteries" that leads to these events has been a challenge to researchers and practicing rheumatologists, who need to identify those patients who will require medical therapy to prevent atherosclerosis. This proposed project will look at novel markers in the blood of lupus patients and may predict who needs more aggressive medical therapy to prevent heart attacks and strokes. The researchers will use traditional statistics and artificial intelligence to help develop a model that predicts atherosclerosis in lupus.
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