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The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. Through CIHR, the Government of Canada invested approximately $17.7 million in 2004-05 in research related to arthritis across Canada.
Pain and fatigue are among the most common--and debilitating--problems faced by people suffering from chronic diseases such as arthritis. In fact, pain can actually be considered a disease in itself, according to research by Dr. James Henry of McMaster University and Dr. Alex Jadad of the Centre for Global e-Health Innovation in Toronto. They found that chronic pain, lasting more than six months, leads to physiological changes.
The Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) has identified the study of pain, disability and chronic disease as one of its three research priorities. One exciting research project that IMHA is supporting in this area is Dr. Gillian Hawker's examination of the determinants and consequences of pain and fatigue in osteoarthritis. Dr. Hawker, of Sunnybrook and Women's College Hospital in Toronto, is leading a New Emerging Team that is taking a biopsychosocial approach to exploring the relationships among pain, fatigue, sleep and mental health. They are also focusing on the role of coping strategies, family support and the use of established treatments to deal with pain and fatigue. Their work could lead to the development of new treatments targeted to individuals in the context of their families and the community as a whole.
Dr. John Esdaile: Taking the sting out of arthritis pain
What should you do if you suffer from swollen, painful joints? Seeing a doctor may come to mind--and, if Dr. John Esdaile has his way, your doctor will be ready for your visit.
As Scientific Director of the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Dr. Esdaile is committed to building a strong multidisciplinary research team of outstanding medical doctors and research scientists who will collaborate with medical professionals around the world to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of arthritis.
As it stands, only 12% of medical schools have mandatory training in musculoskeletal medicine in the clinical years of undergraduate study.
As Professor and Head of the Division of Rheumatology at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Esdaile focuses on chronic disease epidemiology. As someone who first trained as a general practitioner, however, he keeps his eyes on the needs of his individual patients. He believes that, by staying focused on helping patients, he opens the door to opportunities for discovery-enabling him to better help them.
"The clinical interactions with patients feed my research," he says.
Dr. Esdaile's 'bench to bedside to community' research process has been validated by CIHR's Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, which has aggressively supported multidisciplinary research.
Through an Institute-funded New Emerging Team (NET) grant, Dr. Esdaile is focusing on the joint damage caused by very early osteoarthritis, while working with and training up-and-coming researchers from various research fields. Three million Canadians have osteoarthritis and, for most, the diagnosis comes too late for prevention.
True to his focus on the patient, Dr. Esdaile has made research discoveries that improve the lives of people with arthritis. In the 1990s, for instance, he determined that the health of people with lupus deteriorated if they stopped using a drug called hydroxychloroquine. Along with CIHR-funded student Dr. Jolanda Cibere, he determined that glucosomene isn't as effective in treating those suffering from osteoarthritis as was previously thought.
For the past 20 years, Dr. Esdaile has watched as new research methods have opened the door to discoveries never thought possible. He has also seen his career evolve from general practitioner to clinical researcher to professor. Throughout, he has remained steadfast in his dedication to developing better answers for arthritis sufferers who need treatment.
CIHR's Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, under the leadership of Dr. Cyril Frank, supports research to enhance active living, mobility and movement, and to address causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems and palliation for a wide range of conditions - including arthritis, which is the largest subset of all musculoskeletal disorders. The Institute works in close collaboration with The Arthritis Society (TAS), winner of CIHR's first Partnership Award in 2003 and, with TAS and other partners, has formed the Alliance for a Canadian Arthritis Program (ACAP), an alliance established to address shortfalls in arthritis care, research and education. The Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis is also a leading partner in the Bone and Joint Decade, launched by the World Health Organization in 2000 to improve the quality of life for people with musculoskeletal disorders and injury throughout the world. In 2005 Canada will host the Annual Meeting of the International Bone and Joint Decade Committee.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. Its objective is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to close to 10,000 researchers and trainees in every province of Canada.
