BETHESDA, MD.--The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Arthritis Foundation are announcing at a September 4 press briefing that they are joining forces to support a national consortium of 12 research centers in the search for genes that determine susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis. Genetic factors are known to play a role in predisposing people to the disease, but scientists do not yet know much about the specific genes that are involved.

In what is the largest such effort in the world, researchers participating in the North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium (NARAC) hope to learn more about genes that play a role in the disease. They plan to collect medical information and genetic material (DNA) from 1,000 families nationwide in which two or more siblings have rheumatoid arthritis that began when they were between 18 and 60 years old. The project will be headed by Peter K. Gregersen, M.D., of North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY.

People with rheumatoid arthritis who have a brother or sister with the disease and are interested in participating in the study can call the coordinating center at North Shore University Hospital toll free at 800-382-4827 or send e-mail to [email protected]. The Web site for the consortium can be found at http://www.medicine.ucsf.edu/narac/narac.html

The press briefing will be held starting at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4, 1997, at the National Institutes of Health campus, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Md., Bulding 31C, Conference Room 6 (6th floor). There will be a question-and-answer period at the end of the briefing. A reception will follow in the 6th floor lounge of Building 31C.

Speakers at the briefing will be:

• Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D., Director, NIAMS, NIH
• Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, NIAID, NIH
• Debra Lappin, Esq., Chair, Arthritis Foundation
• Doyt L. Conn, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs, Arthritis Foundation
• Peter K. Gregersen, M.D., Principal Investigator, North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY

This project is funded by the NIH (NIAMS and NIAID) in partnership with the Arthritis Foundation, with additional funding from the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH).

NIAID, NIAMS and ORWH are components of the NIH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The principal investigators and participating centers in the consortium are:

• Peter K. Gregersen, M.D.
  North Shore University Hospital
  Manhasset, N.Y. (coordinating center)
  

• David S. Pisetsky, M.D., Ph.D.
  Duke University Medical Center
  Durham, N.C.
  

• Richard M. Pope, M.D.
  Northwestern University
  Chicago, Ill.
  

• Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., MPH
  University of California San Francisco
  San Francisco, Calif.
  

• Salvatore Albani, M.D.
  University of California San Diego (UCSD)
  La Jolla, Calif.
  

• Daniel O. Clegg, M.D.
  University of Utah Health Sciences Center
  Salt Lake City, Utah
  

• J. Lee Nelson, M.D.
  Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
  Seattle, Wash.
  

• Harry W. Schroeder, M.D., Ph.D.
  The University of Alabama at Birmingham
  Birmingham, Ala.
  (co-principal investigator S. Louis Bridges, Jr., M.D., Ph.D.)
  

• Michael F. Seldin, M.D., Ph.D.
  University of California Davis
  Davis, Calif.
  

• Ronald Wilder, M.D., Ph.D. and Daniel Kastner, M.D., Ph.D.
  Arthritis and Rheumatism Branch
  NIAMS, NIH
  Bethesda, Md.
  

• Mark H. Wener, M.D.*
  University of Washington
  Seattle, Wash.
  

• Christopher Amos, Ph.D.*
  University of Texas
  M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
  Houston, Texas
  

*participating but not recruiting patients

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