This is an observational non-medication study. The purpose of this study is to understand the immune system in people who are at risk for developing systemic lupus erythematosus ("lupus" or "SLE"). The investigators hope to develop better ways to predict who will get lupus and possibly come up with ideas for new treatments that can prevent or treat the disease.
Participants will be asked to complete 4 annual study visits and monthly telephone contacts with the study team over the course of 3 years. Visits will include a physical exam, collection of blood and urine, and the completion of some surveys/questionnaires about your health and wellbeing. The monthly phone calls will be a brief contact to check on any changes in your health and should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete.
Compensation is available for participation.
The purpose of this study is to determine if the investigational (not FDA approved) drug VIB4920 can be an effective treatment for patients with active Lupus Nephritis (LN).
This study will compare treatment with MMF (mycophenolate mofetil), Prednisone, plus the study medication VIB4920 to treatment with MMF and Prednisone alone.
Participants will have up to 15 scheduled visits that will involve routine monitoring of disease activity, up to two kidney biopsies, and blood and urine specimen collections. Participation in this study will last approximately 1 year and 2 months. Compensation is available for participation.
The purpose of this study is to create a de-identified, public use,
repository of data of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
patients with by Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a rare genetic
condition that can cause COPD and emphysema.
We plan to obtain skin biopsies from patients with systemic sclerosis and healthy donors to grow cells from biopsies. With those cells, we will use them in experiments to see why the cells from systemic sclerosis patients have more fibrosis compared to patients without systemic sclerosis.
The goal of this study is to develop an early systemic sclerosis (SSc) registry in the United States (US). A registry is a group of patients that are observed over time. This is a non-interventional study, meaning that they are no study specific medications to take or procedures to undergo. The specific aims include ongoing assessment of the natural history of early SSc patients by capturing and analyzing clinical data, patient reported outcomes, and laboratory data as seen in the clinic as part of their routine care needs. Additional study visits are not required. This is a multi-center study with sites spread across the U.S. This study is funded by the Scleroderma Research Foundation.
The purpose of this study is to create and maintain a registry, which is a database (a searchable collection of information) about children, adolescents and young adults with pediatric onset of rheumatic diseases. This data may help in the evaluation of the safety and benefit of medications that are prescribed to patients who have rheumatic diseases.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus; SLE), Systemic Sclerosis (scleroderma; SSc) and Systemic Vasculitis (SV) are relatively rare rheumatic diseases that disproportionately impact the African American community, and particularly African American women. The causes of lupus, scleroderma and vasculitis are unknown, but thought to include both genetic and environmental factors. We are enrolling lupus, scleroderma, and vasculitis patients, and healthy control subjects. This is not a drug study. The purpose of this study is to better understand the factors that predispose people to develop lupus, scleroderma, and vasculitis. Information about medical, social and family history, medications, physical exam findings, and laboratory tests will be collected for analysis. This study will involve approximately 1360 volunteers.