NIAMS Update, Issue 3, 2022

NIAMS is operating under the FY 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The interim funding plan for research and training grants represents the most current information as of the date cited on the web page.

Get the latest public health information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the latest funding opportunities and research news from NIH. Additional news and resources include:

NIAMS, the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) are sponsoring a virtual Health Disparities in Osteoarthritis Workshop on July 12‒13, 2022. The workshop will begin each day at 11 a.m. (ET). Registration is required to participate. The deadline to register is June 24, 2022, at 5 p.m. (ET). Registration is not required to watch the workshop by videocast on Tuesday and/or Wednesday.

While more research is needed to further refine the approach, researchers have reported that it's possible to extract immune cells from a patient's rash, read each cell's exact inflammatory features, and relatively quickly match them online to the right anti-inflammatory treatment to stop the rash.

In this article, NIAMS' Isaac Brownell, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Intramural Research Program's Cutaneous Development and Carcinogenesis Section, weighs in on the merits of routine skin cancer screening. The article cites a recent study where people who were screened for skin cancer during a 5-year period were more likely to be diagnosed with very early-stage melanoma than those who were not screened.

Scientists supported in part by NIAMS are developing an implantable, biodegradable film that helps to regenerate damaged cartilage using an electrical charge. Results in rabbits are promising; important next steps will include the evaluation of these films in larger animals.

Photo credit: Thanh lab at the University of Connecticut

In a study funded by NIAMS and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), scientists identified a signaling pathway in the spine used by the nervous system to process the sensation of pleasant touch. Nerve-cell signaling using this pathway reduced stress in the mice, and may help ease social isolation, anxiety, and other mental health issues.

Research funded by NIAMS and other NIH components established that mice with obesity develop more inflammation and more severe eczema than lean mice. In addition, the team discovered that a treatment that works well in lean mice makes the condition worse in mice with obesity-due to immune cell changes that occur in obesity. The results suggest that treatments for inflammation that are tailored to metabolic differences may improve outcomes.

An NIH-supported international research team discovered a gene mutation responsible for a young girl's lupus autoimmune attack. In an associated experiment in mice, blocking a protein controlled by this gene stopped lupus from developing in those mice. These discoveries may lead to new treatments for some people with lupus.

Photo credit: NIAID

This article describes two rare diseases-spinal muscular atrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy-and how NIH supports research and development on gene therapies to treat them.

Three NIAMS Intramural researchers-Mariana J. Kaplan, M.D., Andrew Mammen, M.D., Ph.D., and Peter Grayson, M.D., M.Sc. -help to explain what is known and becoming better understood about autoimmune diseases in the context of each one's research specialty.

In the May 2022 issue of We Thought You'd Never Ask, the NIAMS Extramural Program describes the NIH Loan Repayment Program, which is designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers.

FDA approved Olumiant (baricitinib) oral tablets to treat adult patients with severe alopecia areata, a disorder that often appears as patchy baldness and affects more than 300,000 people in the United States each year. This marks the first FDA approval of a systemic treatment (i.e. treats the entire body rather than a specific location) for alopecia areata.

Some researchers supported by the Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative®, specialize in developing soft "exosuits"-wearable devices that help people with muscle weakness (for example, after a stroke) so they can regain movement and muscle strength. Sort of like Ironman, but with a lightweight suit made of a special fabric that supports specific parts of the body.

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