Image

Francis Collins to Step Down as Director of the National Institutes of Health

On October 5, 2021, Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., announced his decision to end his tenure as the director of the NIH by the end of the year. Dr. Collins is the longest serving presidentially appointed NIH director, having served three U.S. presidents over more than 12 years.

NIH, FDA, and 15 Private Organizations Join Forces to Increase Effective Gene Therapies for Rare Diseases

The NIH, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 10 pharmaceutical companies, and five nonprofit organizations have partnered to accelerate development of gene therapies for the 30 million Americans who suffer from a rare disease. The NIAMS is among the NIH Institutes supporting this new effort.

Image

Autoimmune Response Found in Many With COVID-19

In a small study partly funded by the NIAMS, about half of the people hospitalized with COVID-19 had antibodies in their blood that could mistakenly attack the body’s own proteins and tissues. More work is needed to see if these autoantibodies contribute to the symptoms of “long COVID,” or have other effects later in life.

Image

Casting the NET Wide: How Neutrophils Shape Chronic Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases

Catch up on the research of the NIAMS’ Deputy Scientific Director and Chief of the Systemic Autoimmunity Branch Mariana Kaplan, M.D., which involves lupus and neutrophils, a type of white blood cell. Read the print summary or watch the lecture.

Image

Parents’ Smoking During Childhood Linked to Rheumatoid Arthritis Later in Life

Girls whose parents smoked cigarettes were 75 percent more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis as adults, according to a study funded by the NIAMS, other NIH Institutes, and the Rheumatology Research Foundation.

Image

Drugs Treat Spinal Disc Degeneration in Mice

A study in mice showed reduced age-related disc degeneration using an experimental drug combination targeting aging cells. The NIAMS and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) supported this research.

Image

NIH Director’s Blog: Engineering a Better Way to Deliver Therapeutic Genes to Muscles

Researchers have developed a promising approach to deliver therapeutic genes and gene editing tools to muscle more efficiently, thus requiring lower doses.

Image

New, Highly Innovative NIH Research Awards to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity

Eleven grants were recently awarded to support the work of exceptionally creative researchers across the United States through the NIH Common Fund’s Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity initiative.

Image

HHS Launches New Campaign to Improve Diversity in Lupus Clinical Trials

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health and the FDA Office of Minority Health and Health Equity have launched the Let’s Take Charge! campaign, an initiative to make lupus research more inclusive and diverse.

Image

NIH Spotlight on Scientific Imagery: Protein Reacting to Anti-Cancer Drug

A ring of Hela tubulin induced by the binding of Cryptophycin 52, a potent anti-cancer drug. The tubulin is rendered as a hydrophobicity surface (blue, hydrophilic; orange, hydrophobic) with Cryptophycin 52 colored magenta. The chemical structure of Cryptophycin 52 is shown in the center.

Photo credit: Elif Eren, Ph.D., and Norman Watts, Ph.D., NIAMS Protein Expression Laboratory

Image

NCCIH Clinical Digest: Mind and Body Practices for Fibromyalgia

This issue from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) summarizes the science of several mind and body approaches often included in the treatment of fibromyalgia symptoms.