University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Given $8 Million to Research a Drug for Myositis

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has been given a five-year $8 million contract from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases a division of the National Institutes of Health to research a treatment for a very rare autoimmune disorder, myositis, which is an inflammation of the skeletal muscles.

There are several forms of myositis and they are all thought to be autoimmune diseases. An autoimmune disease is one in which the body's immune system which is supposed to fight off infections and viruses gets mixed up and instead attacks muscle tissue and in some cases the skin, joints and lungs. The patient can exhibit symptoms such as rash, arthritis and shortness of breath.

The chief researcher is Chester V. Oddis, M.D. who is a professor of medicine at the University. There are also 36 scientists from 18 states and five countries who will be participating. The countries are Canada, the Czech Republic, Sweden, England and the United States

The study will test a drug called rituximab in adults and also in children diagnosed with dermatomyositis one of the forms of myositis that causes muscle weakness and a rash. It will also be tested in adults with a version called polymyositis. This one does not produce a rash.

Rituximag has been approved by the FDA and used since 1997 for the treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In 2006 it was approved by the FDA to treat adult rheumatoid arthritis in patients who had an inadequate response to anti-TNF agents or tumor necrosis factor.

Even though it has been used for years, in the terms of this study rituximab will be considered experimental because it has not been approved in the treatment of either dermatomyositis or polymyositis. The doctors think that the symptoms resulting from myositis are related to B cells in the blood and they are going to see what happens when rituximab is given the chance to reduce the number of B cells in the blood.