Return to Main Menu

New center to focus on lupus, scleroderma in minorities MUSC was awarded approximately $6 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to establish a center for the study of lupus and scleroderma in minority populations. Lupus, like scleroderma, is an autoimmune connective tissue disease that disproportionately affects the black community in South Carolina and throughout the country. Lupus is most commonly characterized by symptoms ranging from achy joints and fatigue to hair loss, seizures, anemia, photosensitivity, and kidney failure. Scleroderma symptoms include thickening of the skin, oral, facial, and dental problems, dry mucous membranes, gastrointestinal tract problems, and shortness of breath due to lung and heart involvement.  “The mortality rates for African-Americans with scleroderma is four times that of Caucasians with the same condition,” said Richard Silver, M.D., director of MUSC’s Division of Rheumatology and Immunology and principal investigator for the five-year multi-disciplinary center. Similarly, the mortality rate for African Americans with lupus is also substantially higher than that of Caucasians.  “The niche that set us apart from other applicants for this highly competitive award was the fact that MUSC has so many African-American patients and an established track record for research in health disparities,” Silver said. “Studying African-American populations in relation to rheumatic diseases is not common at this time, despite African-Americans having an increased prevalence of those diseases.”  MUSC was one of three recipients nationwide for the current cycle of the MCRC (Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center) grant. The research center will utilize unique local resources including the Sea Island's African-American Gullah population and the Carolina Lupus Study.  Projects associated with the center will focus on psychological aspects of female adolescents with lupus, divergent racial trends in lupus-induced kidney inflammation and resulting death, and molecular biological signals involving scleroderma fibroblasts that contribute to tissue fibrosis.  “We have created a great infrastructure for the center by assembling a team of faculty from several disciplines. In addition we are gaining momentum for future projects,” Silver said.  According to a CDC report, the lupus death rate increased nearly 70 percent among black women between the ages of 45-64, and suggests that part of the increase may be related to late diagnosis and problems in access to care. The report indicates that some studies suggest kidney disease may account for excess lupus deaths among blacks.  “The studies at MUSC will help address minority populations that have been understudied,” Silver said. “Clearly this has implications for everyone affected by rheumatic diseases.”     Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.