Research
Since the 1970s, research physicians at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of NIH, have been interested in Wegener's granulomatosis. NIAID scientists first introduced the combination of glucocorticoids with cyclophosphamide for treating people with this disease. While this was a dramatic breakthrough for the treatment of Wegener's granulomatosis, researchers realize that these medicines have serious side effects and cannot be tolerated by all people. Therefore, NIH researchers have continued to study Wegener's granulomatosis to understand the causes of the disease and to develop new treatments.
NIAID and other parts of NIH support research on Wegener's granulomatosis and related forms of vasculitis at medical centers throughout the country through the extramural grants program. For example, NIH has recently awarded a $6.25 million, 5-year grant to establish the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC). The multicenter VCRC will foster and facilitate clinical investigation in the inflammatory vasculitides, including Wegener's granulomatosis.
The VCRC will consist of four major U.S. vasculitis centers
- Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts
- The Cleveland Clinic, Ohio
- The Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota
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