Dept. Of Defense Support For Lupus Research Provides 5 Million Dollars In New Funding

Main Category: Lupus
Article Date: 02 Oct 2007 - 3:00 PST

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The Department of Defense (DoD) Congressionally Directed Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) has awarded $5 million in new funding to support important research studies on lupus and lupus biomarkers. The PRMRP has funded three new grants in 2007 from funds authorized by Congress last year. These projects are in addition to the two projects previously awarded from FY 2005 funds.

Through its strenuous advocacy initiatives, the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) pioneered efforts to have lupus included as one of the specific disease areas eligible for research funding through the PRMRP because of lupus' relevance to military personnel and their dependents. These efforts have opened a new source of much needed funds to support research on lupus. The LFA is pleased that the PRMRP has, within the past two fiscal years, supported five studies on lupus.

The LFA congratulates Betty Diamond, M.D., of the Feinstein Institute's Center for Autoimmune Diseases in Manhasset, New York, Stephen Tomlinson, Ph.D. of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and Retena Engler, M.D., of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for receiving 2007 grant awards from the PRMRP.

Dr. Diamond's study is designed to help identify military personnel whose lupus may be exacerbated by estrogen and those whose disease is not responsive to estrogen. This understanding can translate into improved monitoring of disease and into new therapeutic options. Dr. Tomlinson will study complement inhibitors as a potential new therapy for lupus. Dr. Engler will look at complement activation after exercise to see if it can be used as a biomarker for lupus which may be in remission. Previously, the PRMRP funded studies conducted by George Tsokos, M.D. at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Emily Gillespie, M.D. at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

LFA advocates in February urged Members of Congress to further expand research on lupus through the DoD. Due to the changing demographics of the military population, there is an ever-increasing prevalence of lupus in military and Veterans Hospital Clinics. The LFA recognized this emerging health issue and worked to have lupus included in the PRMRP to advance research on lupus, which ultimately will help military personnel and their families affected by lupus.

To learn more, visit the DoD's Congressionally Directed Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program's Web site at http://cdmrp.army.mil/prmrp/

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