Kansas City,
13
November
2015
|
15:56 PM
America/Chicago

Study Looks at Cellular Interactions and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Dr. Mara L. Becker to discuss study results at a Rheumatology Research Foundation special session

The Rheumatology Research Foundation is the largest private funding source of rheumatology research and training in the United States. Since its establishment in 1985, the Foundation has granted more than 2,600 individual awards, committing more than $131 million directly to research and training.

The Foundation celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and on Tuesday afternoon will play host to a special session commemorating the anniversary and featuring presentations covering some of the cutting-edge research financed by the Foundation, providing insight into the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Mara L. Becker, MD, MSCE, will discuss the results of a study looking at the effect cellular interactions between folate and methotrexate (MTX) may have on early drug response in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Dr. Becker is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and Division Director, Rheumatology, at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.

“As in adults, there are few predictors of response to methotrexate in children, and since the drug is slow-acting, it leaves children vulnerable to potential side effects or delay in effective treatment without a guarantee of response,” Dr. Becker said. “If we can identify who will be an optimal or poor responder to MTX, we may be able to choose the most appropriate drug at the onset of therapy.”

Read more via American College of Rheumatology.