SPARCC & SpA

Spondyloarthritis (SpA)’s major clinical subsets are ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). SpA has a significant prevalence and high burden of illness in the Canadian population. The studies have addressed the biological basis of this arthritis and the impact on individuals and society through a multidisciplinary approach which draws expertise across the spectrum of health research.

Among SPARCC’s goals in this study has been to facilitate the development and more cost-effective use of new therapeutics and create treatment programs leading to better patient care and quality of life, enhance early detection, and lead to better prognosis for patients with SpA. To address these issues, the SPARCC research program has brought together investigators from across the 4-CIHR pillars of health research, and greatly enhanced cross-fertilization of ideas. In the past, bridging the CIHR pillars has proved difficult because of the different methodologies, terminologies and cultures which exist across the spectrum of biomedical and psychosocial research.

SPARCC has an active network of 9 active collaborating sites nationwide. Each of these sites has established patient cohorts followed longitudinally. The core sites and collaborating sites contribute clinical data into a web-based database developed exclusively for SPARCC which have set the stage for trans-provincial comparison on etiological intervals of the progression of the disease and its functional consequences. The unifying focus in this study conceptually draws together this diversity of researchers, and the cornerstone of the approach – a multi-center, comprehensive bio profile and clinical database, will be the matrix in which the synergy of multi-disciplinary research can develop.