The Genome-Wide Association Scan Study in Systemic Sclerosis
The Principal Investigator, Dr. Maureen Mayes, will be running the Genome-Wide Association Scan (GWAS) study in Systemic Sclerosis from the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center in Houston, Texas. The study, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will try “to identify genes that influence susceptibility to systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma) as a single disease entity, and to identify those genes that are associated with specific autoantibody subsets, which are correlated with disease expression.” Members of the CSRG Registry, who express interest in participating in this study, will be invited to donate blood samples. This will be used: (1) to create a bank of DNA, RNA, serum and plasma samples from scleroderma patients for future studies in scleroderma and (2) in tests for autoantibodies, as well as a Genome Wide Association Scan to help determine if there is a genetic link to scleroderma and if so, which genes are involved. The CSRG is very excited to be involved in this impressive study involving scleroderma centers from across North America!