In This Issue

🩺  Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Awards $2 Million To JDM Research Consortium

🩺  Abatacept Shown To Be Effective In Treating Children With JDM

🩺 Cure JM's Mental Health Workshop For Pediatric Rheumatology Professionals

🩺  Save The Date: Cure JM Medical Symposium, May 13, 2023

Cure JM Research Consortium Receives Prestigious Chan Zuckerberg Grant

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has awarded Cure JM and a consortium of Cure JM-funded researchers a coveted $2 million rare disease research grant to identify new biomarkers in JM and improve precise, personalized care through the identification of cell-to-cell interactions that drive inflammation in juvenile myositis.

Principal investigators for the grant include Jessica Turnier, M.D., at the University of Michigan, Jessica Neely, M.D., at the University of California, San Francisco; and Andrew Heaton, Ph.D., the Chief Scientific Officer at Cure JM. Other collaborators on the grant include Jeff Dvergsten, M.D. from Duke University, and Lauren Pachman, M.D. from Lurie Children’s Hospital. UCSF, Duke University, and Lurie Children’s Hospital serve as Cure JM Centers of Excellence.

This milestone achievement recognizes Cure JM’s 20-year commitment as a patient advocacy and juvenile myositis research leader, with the grant being obtained during an open international competition that included some of science’s most notable researchers. The project was one of five globally awarded projects in the “single cell isolation” category, which focuses on better understanding the cause of rare diseases at the cellular level.  

Abatacept Trial Shows Favorable Results In Treating JDM

A clinical trial treating patients with juvenile myositis with the drug abatacept resulted in lower disease activity and clinically significant responses in the majority of patients. The trial was conducted at the Cure JM Center of Excellence at George Washington University, and preliminary results were presented at the Global Conference on Myositis.

Abatacept was generally well tolerated with minimal side effects, and the preliminary data suggest that abatacept may be beneficial in the treatment of hard-to-treat JM patients. Importantly, patients using abatacept improved at the same time prednisone dosage was reduced. 

“We have much more data to assess before we publish the results, yet the pilot study showed that patients with refractory JDM treated with abatacept resulted in lower disease activity and clinically significant responses in the majority of patients.”  Dr. Curiel is the Director of the Cure JM Center of Excellence at George Washington University.  

Cure JM's Mosaic of Mental Health Series Recap

The first two workshops for the Mosaic of Mental Health series for pediatric rheumatologists and other providers occurred on October 13 and 27, 2022.

These two-hour workshops were sponsored by Cure JM, hosted by the Children’s Hospital of Colorado, and offered Continuing Education credits.

More than 90 people registered for both sessions, including physicians, nurses, social workers, and psychologists from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Italy, Spain, and Puerto Rico. 

Attendance varied from 45 in the first workshop to 35 in the second workshop. Clearly, the need for mental health care has risen to epidemic proportions, exacerbated and made more visible due to COVID-19. Mental health needs are even greater for those children and families living with rheumatic and chronic illnesses.

Join us for the 10th Annual Cure JM Medical Symposium on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. EST.

The 10th Annual Medical Symposium features keynote and presenting speakers, including Lisa Rider, M.D., Jessica Turnier, M.D., Andrea Knight, M.D., M.S.C.E., and Sarah Tansley, BSc, MBChB, Ph.D., MRCP. These presenters will highlight the latest advances in basic research, translational studies, and clinical care.

CME credits will be available.

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