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LUPUS UK Funded Researcher -

Prof Christian Hedrich

Professor Christian Hedrich is an Honorary Consultant Paediatric
rheumatologist at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital (a luPus uK Centre of
excellence). In may 2018 he was awarded a grant of £52,528 by luPus uK
towards the cost of a 12-month study investigating the genetic factors
behind juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.

Tell us a fun/interesting fact about 2. To determine the influence of genetic organ involvement, treatment responses,
yourself: risk on age at onset, and/or the and/or outcomes.
involvement of organ systems,
Whenever I’ve moved to a new place in the what potential impact could your
past, one of the big local sports teams won treatment responses, disease severity research have for people living
the national championship… It’s about time and outcomes. with lupus?
for Liverpool FC. 3. To compare this information with
data from adult studies to identify Ultimately, our goal is always to improve
what are your hobbies: shared and unique genetic factors to treatment and quality of life for patients.
My wife and I have just moved into a 120- juvenile-onset sle vs. adult-onset sle. The knowledge we hope to gain from this
year-old house, so home improvement is research could help us to make earlier and
more reliable diagnoses and predictions of
fast becoming hobby number one whether what led you to choose this topic disease activity, as well as to develop
we like it or not! When I eventually emerge area for your study? better treatments that are more effective,
from the local hardware store, you might Early on in my paediatrics training, I was with less toxicity and fewer side effects.
find me on my bike, off in a corner drawn to the clinical and therapeutic Blocking proteins that cause inflammation
sketching something largely indiscernible, or complexity of SLE; the challenges that and contribute to organ damage is one
at the local pub exploring the glorious patients face every day, as well as the fact example for potential future individualised
world of British beer. that most (if not all) available treatments and target-directed treatment options in
are of limited efficacy while causing
Please provide a brief overview of significant side-effects. With the invaluable lupus.
your research project: support of my clinical and scientific mentors what are the next steps after this
My research focuses on understanding how over the years, I’ve developed the project is complete?
people develop autoimmune and autoin- experience and skill set to investigate the The project should help to establish a basis
flammatory diseases, with a particular genetic factors involved in lupus. As a to move forward with the development of
interest in lupus. In the past, it was often paediatrician and researcher, I can see new tools for early and reliable diagnosis
assumed that diseases had the same causes that children and young adults don’t just and the development of new treatments.
in both children and adults, but we now get the “mini-version” of adult disease, but We will continue to work with our interna-
often develop illnesses which look similar
know that this is not always the case. while having different causes. In the case of tional collaborators to test our findings for
Sometimes, what we might call the same lupus, genetic differences may be predictive value in juvenile-onset SLE, as
disease regardless of age may be the responsible for early disease onset, more well as to determine whether genetic
result of quite different processes and even severe disease, higher need for immune markers can be used as guides for individ-
require different treatment. This project will suppression, and less favourable outcomes. ualised and target-directed treatments in
look into suspected genetic differences in Only in understanding these differences SLE. The next steps after that would be to
the development of juvenile- and adult- can we become better at diagnosing, design clinical trials to test new target-
onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). treating, and improving quality of life for directed treatments based on the presence
We have three specific goals for the type young people with lupus. or absence of certain genetic factors in
of knowledge this research study will patients.
provide us with: what do you hope/expect to find? We’re very excited to see the findings from
1. To determine the occurrence of gene We hope to improve our understanding of Professor Hedrich’s research study and we
mutations and/or variants in juvenile- genetic contributors to juvenile-onset SLE will share these with you after the results
onset sle. and their potential association with specific have been published.

Pennies make pounds-support your charity

Collecting your loose change is the easiest way to help fundraise for your charity.
A cardboard collecting box is available from LUPUS UK for use at home or if you are
holding a fundraising event. If friends, family or work colleagues would like to display a
collecting box to support LUPUS UK, please give National Office a call and we will pop
one in the post.
Don’t forget, the pennies soon add up and make pounds towards the work of
LUPUS UK - supporting and informing people with lupus and making grants available
for both lupus research and lupus nurses - thank you. 268C

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luPus uK NEWS & VIEWS SUMMER 2019