Research at the BWH Lupus Center
The BWH Lupus Center is also the source of a very rich research collaborations. Clinical researchers Karen Costenbader, MD, MPH; Patricia Fraser, MD, MPH; Elizabeth Karlson, MD; and Matthew Liang, MD, MPH, are investigating possible causes of lupus, including reproductive hormones, environmental exposures, and dietary factors. (See more about Dr. Fraser's Roxbury Lupus Project - a study of environmental exposures in three urban Boston neighborhoods and the risk of lupus). They are also studying the increased risk of heart attacks and strokes among lupus patients and the best possible means of prevention, as well as evaluating methods for testing potential new treatments for lupus. In the basic science laboratories of Paul Anderson, MD, PhD, and Laurie Glimcher, MD, PhD, research into the underlying cellular causes of SLE is ongoing and important new understanding about this autoimmune disease has been gained.
Recent BWH SLE Center Publications:
1. Fraser PA, Lu LY, Ding WZ, Najundaswamy SN, Chen DF, Uko G, Tonks S. HLA-B44031;DRB1*1503 and other sub-Saharan African major histocompatibility complex haplotypes in African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans carry C4A gene deletions: implications for ethnicity-specific lupus susceptibility genes. Arthritis Rheum. 2000; 43(10):2378-9
2. Glanz BI, Venkatesan A, Schur PH, Lew RA, Khoshbin S. Prevalence of migraine in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Headache. 2001; 41(3): 285-9.
3. Costenbader KH, Mandl LA, Karlson EW, Liang MH. Eligibility for SLE Trials: Defining lupus cases for clinical studies: the Boston weighted criteria for the classification of systemic lupus erythematosus. J Rheumatol 2002;29:2545-50.
4. Karlson EW, Daltroy LH, Rivest C, Ramsey-Goldman R, Wright EA, Partridge AJ, Liang MH, Fortin PR. Validation of a systemic lupus activity questionnaire (SLAQ) for population studies Lupus 2003;12:280-6.
5. Fraser PA, Ding WZ, Mohseni M, Treadwell EL, Dooley MA, St Clair EW, Gilkeson GS. Cooper GS Glutathione S-transferase M null homozygosity and risk of systemic lupus erythematosus associated with sun exposure: a possible gene-environment interaction for autoimmunity. J Rheumatol. 2003; 30(2):276-82.
6. Costenbader KH, Kim DJ, Peerzada J, Lockman S, Nobles-Knight D, Petri M, Karlson EW. Cigarette smoking and the risk of systemic lupus erythematosus: a meta-analysis. Arthritis Rheum 2004;50:849-57.
7. Costenbader KH, Wright E, Liang MH, Karlson EW. Cardiac risk factor awareness and management in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis Rheum 2004;51:983-8.
8. Karlson EW, Costenbader KH, McAlindon TE, Massarotti EM, Fitzgerald LM, Drake-Saucer B, Jajoo R, Husni E, Fraser PA. High sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of the connective tissue disease screening questionnaire (CSQ) among urban African-American women. Lupus 2005;14: 832.
9. Costenbader KH, Karlson EW, Gall V, de Pablo P, Finckh A, Lynch M, Bermas B, Schur PH, Liang MH. Barriers to a trial of atherosclerosis prevention in systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis Rheum. 2005 53: 718-23.
10. ACR Ad Hoc Committee on Response Criteria. (Liang MH, Fortin P, Schneider M, Abrahamowicz M, Alarcón GS, Bombardieri S, Balow J, Benito-Garcia E, Bischoff-Ferrari H, Buyon J, Chehab G, Costenbader KH, Crofford L, dePablo P, Esdaile JM, Finckh A, Fischer-Betz R, Gladman D, Gordon C, Illei G, Isenberg D, Iking-Konert C, Johnson K, Kalden J, Khamashta M, Koike T, Lockshin M, Manzi S; McCune J, Meyrier A, Mikdashi J, Moore A, Mosca M, Petri M, Phillips C, Roberts N, Schur P, Siegel J, Smolen J, St. Clair EW, Strand V). The American College of Rheumatology response criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus clinical trials: Overall disease activity. Arthritis Rheum 2004;50:3418-26.
11. ACR Ad Hoc Committee on Response Criteria. (Liang MH, Schur PH, Fortin P, StClair EW, Costenbader KH, Crofford L, Finckh A, Gordon C, Schneider M, Balow J, Dooley MA, Meyrier A, Ponticelli C, Singh A, Wallace DJ). American College of Rheumatology criteria for proliferative and membranous renal disease in systemic lupus erythematosus clinical trials. Arthritis Rheum 2006; 54: 421-32.
12. Finckh A, Cooper GS, Chibnik LB, Costenbader KH, Watts J, Pankey H, Fraser PA , Karlson EW. Occupational Silica and Solvent Exposures and Risk of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Urban Women. Athritis Rheum, 2006;54:3648-3654.
13. Karlson EW, Watts J, Signorovitch J, Bonetti M, Wright E, Cooper GS, McAlindon TE, Costenbader KH, Massarotti EM, Fitzgerald LM, Jajoo R, Husni ME, Fossel AH, Pankey H, Ding W-Z, Knorr R, Condon S, Fraser PA. Effect of Glutathione-S-Transferase Polymorphisms and Proximity to Hazardous Waste Sites on Time to SLE Diagnosis Results from the Roxbury Lupus Project. Arthritis Rheum, 2006;56:244-254.
14. Costenbader KH, Brome D, Blanch D, Gall V, Karlson EW, Liang MH. Factors Determining Participation in Prevention Trials among SLE Patients: A Qualitative Study. Arthritis Care Res. 2007;57: 49-55.
15. King JK, Costenbader KH. Characteristics of Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Clin Rheumatol, Feb 2007.
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