Grant: Operating Grant: NI grants in MRC&Y Health - Musculoskeletal and Arthritis

Juvenile arthritis is a very serious disease that affects over 300,000 children and teenagers in North America and causes severe pain, physical deformities and confers a risk of long-term disability. While it is known that juvenile arthritis is characterized by chronic inflammation of the joints, it is currently impossible to accurately identify those children who may be at highest risk for future disease. In chronic diseases such as arthritis, signaling molecules called cytokines are largely responsible for tissue inflammation and destruction. Platelets are tiny cells in the blood that control blood clotting but also release cytokines that can promote inflammation during arthritis. The purpose of this grant application is to study platelet activity in patients with juvenile arthritis in order to determine (1) whether platelet-derived cytokines contribute to juvenile arthritis and (2) if these molecules can be used as markers to predict the clinical course of the disease. An improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying juvenile arthritis will eventually lead to improved clinical tools for diagnosing, prognosticating and treating this debilitating disease.