This article is part of the Arthritis Archives.
Dateline: October 5, 1999
Quest For A Cure For Ankylosing Spondylitis
With a vision of finding a cure for ankylosing spondylitis, two young men who suffer with the disease have helped to promote a small patient advocacy organization and muster support for their cause. Rico Brogna, first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, and Josh Eldridge, board president of the patient advocacy organization known as SAA, Spondylitis Association of America, are working hard to draw attention to the "Quest For A Cure".
SAA has also engaged John Reveille, M.D. from the University of Texas-Houston as a partner. As a team they worked to set up a DNA bank where blood samples and medical history have been collected from a hundred families which have siblings with ankylosing spondylitis. Various donations from patients and friends initially got this project off the ground.
Major Research Grant For Ankylosing Spondylitis
It was announced, at the end of September 1999, that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $4.5 million grant to fund the research started by SAA.
Under the NIH grant the research project will be continued by a group of 10 university and VA (veteran's affairs) medical centers with SAA functioning as the clinical coordinating center. The 10 members of the North American Spondylitis Consortium include medical centers at:
- University of Texas-Houston
- California-Los Angeles
- Case Western Reserve-Cleveland
- Utah-Salt Lake City
- Alabama-Birmingham
- South Florida-Tampa
- Pennsylvania-Philadelphia
- Toronto-Canada
- Minnesota-Minneapolis
- Cedars Sinai Medical Center-Los Angeles
Ultimately the project will focus on finding and identifying the genes that cause ankylosing spondylitis. Such an achievement could open the door to new treatments for ankylosing spondylitis and a possible cure. Four hundred families with two siblings having ankylosing spondylitis are needed as participants for the research project.
The collaboration between a patient advocacy group, academic medical centers, and the government is said to be extraordinary. Perhaps the future success of this venture can be matched by similar affiliations as the power of a small patient advocacy group is recognized.
Related Resources - Ankylosing Spondylitis
Sources: SAA, The Spondylitis Association of America; PRNewswire, NIH Supports SAA's Effort With Major Research Grant, 9/29/99
First published: 10/05/1999
