Arthritis Newsletters January 2020

BEST WISHES FOR 2020

 

On behalf of the Arthritis Program, we would like to wish you a happy new year.

The Arthritis Program is at the forefront of clinical care, education and research. In the last year, our team performed close to 4,000 surgeries and attended to approximately 80,000 outpatient visits. In the last year and a half, our team published over 400 peer reviewed publications and held over $12.5 million in peer reviewed grants.

In Fall 2019, Krembil teamed up with The Globe and Mail on a special project to highlight the groundbreaking research and clinical advancements happening within the Arthritis Program. Inside the issue, readers will learn how our committed team is making new discoveries and developing innovative techniques and technologies to prevent, treat and help patients recover from MSK-related diseases. Click here to read the online version of the magazine.

The success and achievements of the four arms of the Arthritis Program comprised of Hand, Orthopedics, Osteoporosis and Rheumatology, is only achievable through its dedicated team of clinicians, scientists, educators, nurses, technicians, trainees, staff and supporters. Thank you for all your hard work.

Best wishes, Dr. Mohit Kapoor and Dr. Robert Inman

 

AWARDS, GRANTS AND RECOGNITIONS

Arthritis Society Strategic Operating Grant 2019

Dr. Robert Inman and Dr. Nigil Haroon were successful in obtaining the 2019 Arthritis Society Strategic Operating Grants. Dr. Inman received the grant for his work on “T cell dysregulation in ankylosing spondylitis”. Dr. Haroon received the grant for his work on “Identifying the origin of new bone formation in spondyloarthritis and targeting Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) to stop osteoproliferation in a pre-clinical study”.

Arthritis Society Announces Top 10 Research Advances of 2019

Dr. Zahi Touma and Dr. Sowmya Viswanathan's research has been featured on The Arthritis Society website as part of the top 10 research advances of 2019. Dr. Zahi Touma’s work on Lupus investigated and identified the usefulness of patient screening questionnaires to help identify people with lupus who may have depression or anxiety. Dr. Sowmya Viswanathan’s work on innovative cell therapy for osteoarthritis found that treatments to limit the impact that osteoarthritis has on lives are limited and that cell-based therapies could hold the key to effective treatment.

 

Early Researcher Award

The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade awarded three UHN researchers with Early Researcher Awards. Dr. Zahi Touma, Krembil Clinician Investigator and Rheumatologist at TWH, won an award for advanced statistical approaches and machine learning to develop screening and diagnostic tests for cognitive impairment in systemic lupus erythematosus—a chronic autoimmune disease.

Chair of the American College of Rheumatology Quality of Care Committee

Dr. Sindhu Johnson, Director of the Toronto Scleroderma Program, has been appointed Chair of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Quality of Care Committee with a mandate to oversee development of Classification and Response Criteria; Guidelines and Quality Measure for the ACR.

 

NEW EXTERNAL APPOINTMENTS

Scientist Appointment at Henry Ford Health System

Congratulations to Dr. S. Amanda Ali on accepting a Scientist position in the Bone and Joint Center at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Ali recently completed her postdoctoral research fellowship within the Arthritis Program.

 

 

Medical Science Liaison at Novartis

Congratulations to Dr. Meital Yerushalmi who will be joining Novartis as a Rheumatology Medical Science Liaison in Michigan. Dr. Yerushalmi is a Chiropractor and a PhD Candidate within the Arthritis Program.

Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University

Congratulations to Dr. Poulami Datta on accepting her second postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts. She recently completed her first postdoctoral research fellowship within the Arthritis Program.

 

RESEARCH DAYS

International Standards Organization Technical Committee

Dr. Sowmya Viswanathan, as chair of the organization committee, hosted a working group meeting of the International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 276 at the BMO Conference Centre, Dec 2-6, 2019, with support from the Regenerative Medicine Alliance of Canada and the Standards Council of Canada. Delegates from over 30 countries participated in the working meeting which focused on developing standards in the cell and gene therapy space including biobanking standards for bone marrow- and umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells.

Ralph T. Manktelow Day

On October 18, 2019 the Hand Program hosted its annual Ralph T. Manktelow Day at Toronto Western Hospital to discuss and present on the recent treatment approaches for hand pathology and advances in research. The invited guest speaker was Dr. Jennifer Moriatis Wolf, Professor at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Chicago who presented her research on gender differences and the impact of hormones on basilar thumb osteoarthritis. Clinicians, therapists, students and research staff were in attendance.

NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS

Acromioclavicular Joint Injuries: Evidence-based Treatment

Frank R, Cotter E, Leroux T, Romeo A. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. September 2019. Click here for publication.

Associations among classification criteria items within systemic lupus erythematosus

Touma Z, Cervera R, Brinks R, Lorenzoni V, Tani C, Hoyer BF, Costenbader KH, Sebastiani GD, Navarra SV, Bonfa E, Ramsey-Goldman R, Tedeschi SK, Dörner T, Johnson SR, Aringer M, Mosca M. Arthritis Care & Research. September 2019. Click here for publication.

Bone Marrow and Muscle Fat Infiltration are Correlated Among Postmenopausal Women with Osteoporosis: the AMBERS Cohort Study

Wong AK, Chandrakumar A, Whyte R, Reitsma S, Gillick H, Pokhoy A, Papaioannou A, Adachi JD. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. November 2019. Click here for publication.

Cemented humeral stem versus press-fit humeral stem in total shoulder arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Uy M, Wang J, Horner N, Bedi A, Leroux T, Alolabi B, Khan M. Bone and Joint Journal. September 2019. Click here for publication.

Ethnic Variations in Systemic Sclerosis Disease Manifestations, Internal Organ Involvement, and Mortality.

Al-Sheikh H, Ahmad Z, Johnson SR. The Journal of Rheumatology. September 2019. Click here for publication.

Factors associated with patient-reported likelihood of using online self-care interventions: a Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN) cohort study

Kwakkenbos L, Cumin J, Carrier ME, Bartlett SJ, Malcarne VL, Mouthon L, Nielson WR, Rannou F, Welling J, Thombs BD. BMJ. October 2019. Click here for publication.

Factors Predictive of Radiographic Progression in Ankylosing Spondylitis

Sari I, Lee S, Tomlinson G, Johnson SR, Inman RD, Haroon N. Arthritis Care & Research. November 2019. Click here for publication.

Fatigue severity in anti-nuclear antibody positive individuals does not correlate with pro-inflammatory cytokine levels or predict imminent progression to symptomatic disease

Hafiz W, Nori R, Bregasi A, Noamani B, Bonilla D, Lisnevskaia L, Silverman E, Bookman AAM, Johnson SR, Landolt-Marticorena C, Wither J. Arthritis Care & Research. November 2019. Click here for publication.

Glenoid bone grafting in primary reverse total shoulder arthroplasty: a systematic review

Paul R, Maldonado-Rodriguez N, Docter S, Khan M, Veillette C, Verma N, Nicholson G, Leroux T. The Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. December 2019. Click here for publication.

Integrin and transcriptomic profiles identify a distinctive synovial CD8+ T cell subpopulation in spondyloarthritis

Qaiyum Z, Gracey E, Yao Y, Inman RD. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. November 2019. Click here for publication.

The Relationship Between the Critical Shoulder Angle and the Incidence of Chronic, Full-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears and Outcomes After Rotator Cuff Repair: A Systematic Review.

Docter S, Khan M, Ekhtiari S, Veillette C, Paul R, Henry P, Leroux T. The Journal of Arthroscopy. November 2019. Click here for publication.

Return to Sport After Arthroscopic Superior Labral Anterior-Posterior Repair: A Systematic Review.

Thayaparan A., Yu J, Horner N, Leroux T, Alolabi B, Khan M. Sports Health. November 2019. Click here for publication.

Sex differences in the relationship between individual systemic markers of inflammation and pain in knee osteoarthritis

Perruccio AV, Badley EM, Power JD, Canizares M, Kapoor M, Rockel J, Chandran V, Gandhi R, Mahomed NM, Dacey JR, Syed K, Veillette C, Rampersaud YR. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. November 2019. Click here for publication.

Understanding Osteoarthritis Pathogenesis: A Multiomics System-Based Approach

Ratneswaran A, Rockel JS, Kapoor M. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. January 2020. Click here for publication.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SPARCC Pilot Project Research Program 2020

The Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) is relaunching the “PILOT PROJECT RESEARCH PROGRAM” this year which provides seed funding to support research proposals aligned with its primary objective for the advancement of spondyloarthritis (SpA)-related research. SPARCC will provide one-year seed grant to be awarded on a competitive basis to innovative proposals in the area of SpA research. SPARCC aims to approve 3 to 4 awards in 2020 to successful applicants. More information about SPARCC Pilot Project Research Program 2020.