SPARCC
SPARCC is a group of rheumatologists and scientists who have come together to study spondyloarthritis. SPARCC is a national research program with a focus on genetic and pathogenesis studies and outcome measures for patients with spondyloarthritis. This will encompass studies in genetics to clinical epidemiology.
Known collectively as spondyloarthritis (SpA), this group of diseases is characterized by chronic inflammation of the pelvic joints and spine. It is frequently accompanied by arthritis in a number of other joints. SpA affects at least the same number of Canadians as rheumatoid arthritis (1 in 100 people). Until recently, SpA was under-recognized and under-studied in Canada.
The 2023 spondyloarthritis patient forum was held on November 21, 2023.
SPARCC published the results of an investigation into the relationship between fatigue and psychosocial factors in psoriatic arthritis. Using a combination of questionnaires and laboratory tests, the research team discovered that fatigue is a common symptom amongst these patients. Fatigue has strong connections with pain, physical functional disability, and psychological distress. Dr. Dafna Gladman comments: “This is an important discovery which will aid physicians caring for patients with psoriatic arthritis, since fatigue has a major impact of the quality of life for these patients. Such studies are beginning to make a real difference for our patients.”
In 2005, 592 individuals in Ontario experienced food poisoning after consuming food products contaminated with Salmonella. SPARCC investigators found 53 individuals who developed arthritis after this episode of dysenteric outbreak. This provided important new information on the role of infection in the development of arthritis. The investigators then discovered that one particular gene (toll-like receptor 2) was associated with the type of arthritis that was developed. Dr. Robert Inman comments: “There has long been a suspicion about a role of infection as the cause of arthritis. With an outbreak of infection such as this, the opportunity arose to define what the interaction of genetics and infection might be which sets the stage of arthritis. This discovery has major implications for studying arthritis in populations exposed to common infectious diseases. It also suggests that new forms of treatment could be developed which are directed toward the interaction of the bacteria and this gene.
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