NEW YORK, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Jane Salmon, M.D., a researcher at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, leveraged data from preliminary research supported by the Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR), a leading source of private funding for lupus research, to gain a $5.7 million award from NIAMS (NIH). The grant will be used to identify predictors of pregnancy outcomes in patients with lupus as a means of preventing recurrent miscarriage and other pregnancy complications.
In 2000, Dr. Salmon set out to prove a hypothesis about inflammation and pregnancy loss that challenged conventional thinking. Seeing the potential of her novel idea, ALR committed $1.5 million to support Dr. Salmon’s work, allowing her to quickly progress with preliminary studies that set the stage for the NIH grant. Additional support was provided by The Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research.
“We are extremely proud of the progress that Dr. Salmon has made with her study,” said Barbara Boyts, the president of the Alliance for Lupus Research. “It exemplifies the type of targeted, innovative research that the Alliance for Lupus Research will continue to support because of its potential to make a significant impact on the lives of lupus patients in the quickest timeframe.”
The NIH grant will fund the PROMISSE Study (Predictors of pRegnancy Outcome: bioMarkers In antiphospholipid antibody Syndrome and Systemic lupus Erythematosus). Led by Dr. Salmon, PROMISSE is a prospective observational study of 400 pregnant patients, enrolled at six major clinical centers, and grouped and analyzed according to the presence or absence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and preexisting SLE. Dr. Salmon aims to utilize data from this study to identify predictors of poor fetal outcome in humans, in particular those with lupus. Studies in animal models of aPL-associated pregnancy loss indicated that activation of complement and release of inflammatory mediators was responsible for fetal injury. The new project should provide the necessary groundwork for an interventional trial of complement inhibition in patients at risk for fetal loss, and may eventually result in means of preventing recurrent miscarriage in lupus patients.
During the next five years, Dr. Salmon will lead a core group of investigators with recognized expertise in SLE and aPL pregnancy, high-risk obstetrics, the basic biology of complement, and statistical methods in SLE studies, including ALR-funded investigators Timothy W. Behrens, M.D., of the University of Minnesota and Michelle A. Petri, M.D., M.PH of Johns Hopkins University, to carry out this study. Researchers will obtain and analyze detailed medical and obstetrical information during the course of pregnancy and serial blood specimens for complement and cytokine assays, to identify predictors of poor fetal outcome. RNA will be analyzed to elucidate temporal changes in gene expression during the course of complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies and placentas will be studied to characterize tissue pathology and mediators of tissue injury.
“We believe that our study will provide insight into the mechanisms of complement-mediated inflammatory disorders and discover a means to prevent, control, or modify the conditions causing pregnancy loss in patients with lupus,” said Dr. Salmon.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), commonly called lupus, is an autoimmune disease in which antibodies attack the kidneys and other organs. Potentially fatal, it strikes primarily young women.
A 501 (c)(3) organization, the Alliance For Lupus Research is chaired by Robert Wood Johnson IV, of the Johnson & Johnson healthcare family and owner of the NFL’s New York Jets. Since its inception in 1999, ALR has committed more than $26 million to lupus research, and has made remarkable gains toward unlocking the mysteries of this disease. ALR directs one hundred percent of funds raised to peer-reviewed research and scientific programs. For more information on the Alliance for Lupus Research, visit http://www.lupusresearch.org/ or call (800) 867-1743.
Alliance for Lupus Research
CONTACT: Media - Linda De Vito of The Graubard Group, +1-212-966-9000,ldevito@graubardgroup.com, for Alliance for Lupus Research
Web Site: http://www.lupusresearch.org/
