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SCREENING FOR TUBERCULOSIS NEEDS TO BECOME A PRIORITY
25 October 2001 - Boston University
| Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine have shown that patients with rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease taking the drug Infliximab, are at greater risk of developing tuberculosis. The study, which appears in the October 11, 2001 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that the drug lowers the resistance of patients with latent tuberculosis infection making them more susceptible to tuberculosis disease. |
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine have shown that patients with rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease taking the drug Infliximab, are at greater risk of developing tuberculosis. The study, which appears in the October 11, 2001 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that the drug lowers the resistance of patients with latent tuberculosis infection making them more susceptible to tuberculosis disease. The researchers, led by Joseph Keane, MD, Pulmonary Center and Tuberculosis Control Program, and assistant professor of medicine at BUSM, reviewed data from the Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System on tuberculosis disease following Infliximab therapy. They found incidences of tuberculosis disease were more common than other infectious diseases and that tuberculosis occurred at a higher frequency in these patients than in those not using the drug. Currently, 147,000 people have taken the drug. Infliximab works to reduce the inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease by lowering the level of tumor necrosis factor activity in the body. "While lower levels of TNF activity are successful in treating these two diseases, we have found that a lack of TNF leaves the body more susceptible to tuberculosis in infected patients," said Keane. Keane and his colleagues emphasize the need for physicians to communicate with patients this increased risk and to take proper precautionary measures. "In addition, screening for tuberculosis should become mandatory prior to treatment and physicians should remain vigilant for unusual presentations of tuberculosis after treatment with this drug begins," he added. The study was supported by a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute grant, the Massachusetts Thoracic Society and the American Lung Association of Massachusetts.
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Boston University has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in research in a wide range of disciplines and a demonstrated commitment to fostering innovative interdisciplinary research. The Office of the Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Education supports the University in facilitating research at the both the student and faculty levels.Our mission is to enhance and encourage research at Boston University and to provide a climate conducive to maintaining the University at the cutting edge of research and scholarly activities. We work with the Boston University community to plan and coordinate interdisciplinary research and represent the University in research matters related to Inter-University consortia. To encourage new, innovative, and cross-disciplinary efforts, this office administers the Special Program for Research Initiation Grants (SPRInG). We showcase graduate research at Science & Technology Day. This annual event features nearly 200 research posters by graduate students from both the Medical and Charles River Campuses working in a wide range of disciplines. Our annual research magazine, Research at Boston University, informs a wide audience about a selection of our significant research findings and ongoing studies at Boston University. We also maintain a strong presence on the web through this site and through the Science Coalition’s website, which brings our research successes to the attention of Congress and other policy makers in the federal government. To assist Boston University researchers, this office oversees the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and coordinates with the Office of Sponsored Programs on the Charles River Campus , the research administration on the Medical Campus, the Office of Research Compliance, and the various graduate programs. For the development of commercially viable ideas, we administer the Provost's Innovation Fund and work closely with the Office of Technology Transfer. We also coordinate proposals where there are institutional limits to the number of proposals that may be submitted, cost sharing requirements, significant laboratory renovations, or other special circumstances. This office assists departments and centers to achieve a diverse faculty and graduate student body through our membership and activities with the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate and through our affiliation with the Clare Boothe Luce program of the Henry Luce Foundation. |
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