Scientists have long known that the autoimmune disease lupus disproportionately strikes women. And though they have searched for a genetic link between the disease and the X chromosome—women carry two, while men carry only one—they’ve not found one. Until now. Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist Amr Sawalha, M.D., has discovered an association between a gene […]
lupus
It’s in the genes: OMRF leads international effort that unmasks potential genetic roots of lupus
An international consortium of scientists led by OMRF investigator John B. Harley, M.D., Ph.D., has identified multiple genes linked to lupus, a devastating autoimmune disease that affects as many as 2 million Americans and 15 million people worldwide. The group’s findings appear online in two related articles in the Feb. edition of the journal Nature […]
OMRF wins grant to establish rheumatic disease center
The National Institutes of Health has awarded the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation $2.66 million to establish the Oklahoma Rheumatic Disease Research Cores Center. The grant, which will be awarded over a five-year period, will fund studies aimed at developing a better understanding of health problems characterized by pain in the muscles and joints. The project […]
Researchers identify protein that may predict lupus
Certain families produce higher levels of a protein that may prime the body’s immune system to attack itself, according to a new study from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The findings could lead to new methods of predicting who may be at risk to develop the […]
OMRF scientist blazes new path for predicting disease
Growing up, Judith James rarely passed up an episode of Star Trek. From her living room in Pond Creek, the future M.D./Ph.D. sat transfixed as Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise boldly went where no man had gone before. For the future physician and medical researcher, the workings of the […]
Patient Studies
Autoimmune diseases, where the body attacks its own tissues, rank among the most difficult of all human conditions to diagnose and treat. These puzzling illnesses can impact all areas of a person’s life, and it takes the highest level of expertise to properly treat and monitor those who live with them every day. Physicians in […]
