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| The LAM Foundation is pleased to share this exciting news: BWH Center for LAM Research and Clinical Care awarded $1 million grant from Department of Defense. BOSTON, MA—The Center for LAM Research and Clinical Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) has been awarded a $1 million plus, four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs to fund their work on lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). This work will be performed in partnership with the Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD.LAM is a rare lung disease that affects women almost exclusively. In LAM, the normal lung tissue is progressively destroyed. LAM can also occur in women with a genetic syndrome called tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), which causes tumors in different parts of the body, such as the skin, brain and kidneys. LAM usually affects healthy, non-smoking, young women, according to Elizabeth Henske, MD, director of the Center for LAM Research and Clinical Care. Symptoms, such as shortness of breath, often begin in the late 20s, and can worsen with pregnancy. LAM can lead to lung collapse, oxygen dependency, the need for lung transplantation, and even death in young adulthood. The center will use the funds to conduct a phase I clinical trial to determine the safety of a combination of two drugs to treat patients with LAM. The drugs that will be tested are hydroxychloroquine and sirolimus. Patients will be given different doses of the medications to find out which are deemed safe and efficacious. In addition to determining safety, the researchers will evaluate effects of the drug combo on patients’ lung function, exercise capacity, kidney tumor size and quality of life. Independently, hydroxychloroquine and sirolimus treat different conditions. Sirolimus is an immunosuppression drug that is given after organ transplantation, while hydroxychloroquine is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. “This will be the first time that this drug combination has been tested in women with LAM,” said Henske. “We will learn whether the combination of [these] two drugs is safe in women with LAM. In our work in the laboratory, we have seen that this combination of drugs is more effective than either drug alone in models of LAM.” Henske also added, “This DOD Clinical Trial Award would not have been possible without the LAM Foundation’s and Adler Foundation’s support of our laboratory-based autophagy research. We’re very excited to have this opportunity to make a difference in LAM. And so grateful for your support.”
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LAM awarded $ 1 million grant
One man’s amazing medical journey, all captured on film
In 2005 Jim Ray Cooper was told that was dying of an advanced lung disease and that he had less than half a year to live. At that time, he was suffering with severe breathlessness and pain and was terrified that he was going to suffocate to death as his lung disease worsened. This short film (13 minutes) tells the real life story of Jim Ray Cooper and his experiences during the last six years of his life with advanced lung disease.
New Food Allergy Guidelines to Debut December 6
November 16, 2010 (Phoenix, Arizona) — Delegates to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting got a “taste” of new guidelines specifically created to help a wide variety of healthcare professionals, not just allergists, Continue reading →
