Rheumatology Clinical Trials

Patients who participate in this study will:

• donate fluid collected from their lungs during a bronchoscopy (taken at the time they are already scheduled to have a bronchoscopy or during their scheduled endoscopy)
• give a blood sample
• give esophageal biopsies (taken during their scheduled endoscopy)
• as an option, give skin biopsies

The CONQUER Registry will enable researchers to:

Finding a way to reduce pain is consistently named as one of the top priorities for patients with RA. Previous research has found that this ongoing pain may in part be caused by problems in the way the brain processes pain signals. This is called pain centralization. This study will identify factors that lead to the development of pain centralization, so that in future studies we can learn more about how to prevent the development of this kind of chronic pain in RA.

Participants will complete a total of 3 study visits (baseline, 3 months and 12 months). At each study visit, participants will have a physical exam, have blood drawn, answer questionnaires, and undergo quantitative sensory testing to assess responses to pressure and coldness. A subset of patients who are interested and eligible will undergo a brain MRI at baseline and the 12-month study visit. Participants will receive $50 for the completion of each study visit and an additional $100 for completing each MRI.

This study will examine different proteins and cell types in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with systemic lupus (SLE) who may or may not currently be experiencing neuropsychiatric manifestations of the disease. We aim to identify specific factors that affect the regulation of genes to help explain what goes wrong in systemic lupus. Then, we hope to develop treatments that will target these factors.

Finding a way to reduce pain is consistently named as one of the top priorities for patients with RA. People living with RA commonly report persisting pain which on average is 30% more intense than the general population. Previous research has found that this ongoing pain may in part be caused by problems in the way the brain processes pain signals. This is called pain centralization. This study will examine the relationship between immune cells (cells that are part of the immune system, that help the body fight infections and other diseases) and pain centralization. This study will also search for biomarkers (substances that can be measured in the blood) that may be associated with pain centralization, so that we can determine who may be at at risk for developing this kind of chronic pain and how to treat and/or prevent it in the future.

Participants will be in this research study for one study visit, lasting about 2 hours. Participants will undergo a physical examination to assess joint inflammation, complete questionnaires, undergo quantitative sensory testing (QST) assessments, and provide blood samples.

Finding a way to reduce pain is consistently named one of the top priorities for patients with RA. People living with RA commonly report persisting pain which, on average, is 30% more intense than the general population. Previous research has found that this ongoing pain may, in part, be caused by problems in the way the brain processes pain signals. This is called pain centralization. This study will identify factors associated with pain centralization, so that, in future studies, we can learn more about how to prevent the development of chronic pain in RA. This study will also identify biomarkers that could provide insight into targeted therapies for future clinical trials.

This study includes two in-person study visit to complete quantitative sensory testing (QST), blood draws, joint counts, blood pressure assessment, and patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires. If participants are unsure of their height and/or weight off-at the time of the visits, they may also have height and/or weight assessed. The first visit will occur at baseline within 3 weeks of the patient starting their DMARD. The second visit will occur 12 weeks (+/- 3 weeks) after starting their new DMARD.

This study will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the SetPoint Medical System (study device) for the treatment of patients with active, moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), who have had an inadequate response or intolerance to biologic or targeted synthetic Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs).

The purpose of this study is to better understand the development and progression of scleroderma-related lung fibrosis (SSc-ILD). We would like to find indicators (biomarkers) that can help us predict which patients will develop SSc-ILD and who might benefit from receiving certain treatments. To do this, we will collect and study your clinical and imaging data and samples (blood, lung fluid, and skin) if you agree to participate in this research.

We are doing this study to learn more about anifrolumab (SAPHNELOTM) in patients with systemic sclerosis and also to better understand the studied disease and associated health problems. Anifrolumab is being tested in research studies as a new treatment for systemic sclerosis and the purpose of this study is to find out if anifrolumab is safe to use in systemic sclerosis and can improve the symptoms of the disease.

Participants will be in the research study for approximately 122 weeks (2 years and 3 months). Participants are given an investigational drug and asked to come for approximately 16 study visits.

For 52 weeks, half of the participants will receive 120 mg anifrolumab and half will receive placebo (inactive solution containing no anifrolumab) by injection under the skin (subcutaneous) while continuing to receive their standard therapies. Which study treatment you will be given will be randomly assigned. After 52 weeks, all participants will receive 120 mg anifrolumab (for 52 weeks) to evaluate the long-term safety of the study drug in patients with systemic sclerosis.