FROM THE CHIEF
Dear Alumni, Faculty, Staff, and Friends,
I hope you are doing well - staying healthy and safe. The coronavirus pandemic in Michigan has been an extremely challenging time for all of us.
For me, I am tremendously grateful to my team for their unwavering action, phenomenal care, inspiring innovation, and ongoing determination in battling COVID-19.
This newsletter shares our current COVID-19 initiatives and the exciting research developments we are making to battle this novel disease.
As a physician and researcher for over 25 years, I have never experienced one disease overwhelming entire populations and health care systems. In a race for solutions, our rheumatology team quickly pivoted, refocused their research efforts, and are making huge strides! From collaborating with rheumatologists across the United States to exploring new treatment targets - our team is making a difference.
There is good news to share. The number of new COVID-19 cases at Michigan Medicine are on the decline. While we are not out of the woods yet, we hope this positive progress will continue.
Sincerely,
Interim Chief, Division of Rheumatology
Professor of Internal Medicine
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Dr. J. Michelle Kahlenberg
discusses hyroxycholoroquine (the generic form of Plaquenil), a first line therapy for those with lupus and as a possible treatment for COVID-19.
“The data we have so far for the efficacy of Plaquenil for treating COVID is not great,” stated Dr. Kahlenberg. “The trials are not randomized controlled trials, they have design flaws and even though they do show some benefit, it’s hard to know how much because there’s no placebo controlled comparator group.”
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Jason Knight, MD, PhD; Yu (Ray) Zuo, MD; and Team Opens Lab to Explore New Treatment Targets for Patients with COVID-19
Jason Knight, MD, PhD and Yogendra Kanthi, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine) were selected as recipients of the U-M Frankel Cardiovascular Center “
COVID-19: CV Impact Research Ignitor Grant”, a grant specifically designed to promote the initiation of a promising project targeting the COVID-19 virus’s impact on cardiovascular health. Their project, “Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) in COVID-19 Inflammatory Storm”,
looked at how certain products of neutrophil cell death may drive inflammatory responses in patients with COVID-19.
Ray Zuo, MD, a rheumatologist and member of Dr. Knight’s lab, also played an instrumental role in launching the study. “Our project is pursuing the hypothesis that levels of circulating NETs will predict COVID-19 patients at risk for severe disease, and we hope will also identify new actionable treatment targets,” explained Dr. Zuo.
Their study found that patients with COVID-19 infection had higher blood levels of neutrophil extracellular traps, indicating that they play a significant role in COVID-19. The results of their study were featured in
Scientific America
.
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Emily Somers, PhD, ScM Co-Leads the COVID-19 Rapid Response Research Registry
The Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR)
at Michigan Medicine launched the COVID-19 Rapid Response Research Registry to offer a central hub for COVID-19 patient data to aid in critical decisions on the front lines.
“Tackling this novel public health threat requires classic public health measures, such as social distancing,” Dr. Somers explained. “Registries are another fundamental epidemiologic tool and are essential to our basic understanding of disease. The COVID-19 Rapid Response Registry will further serve as a resource for scientists to enable acceleration of cutting-edge research.”
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Beth Wallace, MD Serves as Regional Leader for COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Registry
The
COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance
is an international grassroots organization, formed by rheumatologists and patients with autoimmune disease, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Their goal is to help rheumatologists improve patient care by generating and disseminating data about patients with autoimmune disease who have been infected by the COVID-19 virus.
"The COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance showcases the strength, commitment, and cooperation of our international rheumatology community," said
Dr. Wallace
. "It was founded not by a top-down mandate, nor by any individual researcher or group, but through open collaboration between doctors and patients who seek to improve clinical care. Building on the diverse strengths of its members, the Alliance has the transparency, expertise, and flexibility needed to help make a difference in the lives of our patients.”
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MICHIGAN MEDICINE
DIVISION OF RHEUMATOLOGY
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