Thank you for your interest in and support of our APS Program! We continue to pursue personalized, proactive treatments for APS with a long-term goal of a cure. We do this work to make lives better, and we hope we can use these emails to build a community of others who want the same. We’re all in this together!

NEWS & ACHIEVEMENTS

Could Ginger Help Treat Autoimmune Disease Symptoms?

The APS Research Labs, through a project led by Ramadan Ali, PhD, find that ginger supplements change the activity of neutrophils and make them more resistant to NETosis. Read more.

Collaboration on Ginger with CU

This project was conducted in collaboration with Kristen Demoruelle, MD, PhD from the University of Colorado (CU). Denver7 interviewed Dr. Demoruelle about our findings. Watch the video.

Welcoming the First Joint Institute Collaboration Scholars to Ann Arbor

The APS Research Labs welcome Yuzhou Gan, MD, PhD, one of two visiting physician researchers from China participating in a new program intended to bolster scholarly exchange between Michigan Medicine and Peking University Health Science Center. Read more.

Antiphospholipid Syndrome: Where Did We Come from and Where Are We Going?

Jason Knight, MD, PhD discusses the history of APS and the Michigan Medicine APS Program's past and present work in APS research at the Northwestern University Rheumatology Grand Rounds on October 3, 2023. Watch the video. 

RESEARCH & CLINICAL TRIALS

ACR Convergence 2023

ACR Convergence is an annual scientific meeting organized by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Many consider it the world's premier rheumatology meeting, and it is always an enlightening experience to present our latest work in this forum. This year, it's being held in San Diego from Friday, November 10 - Wednesday, November 15.

Please see below for a list of our upcoming presentations and click here to read brief summaries of each one.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12

Molecular Stratification of APS Patients Through Integrative Analysis of the Whole-Blood RNA Transcriptome

Presenting Author: Amala Ambati

Presentation Type: Poster

Decoding APS Laboratory Test Outcomes in a Large Multicenter Electronic Health Record Database

Presenting Author: Emily Balczewski

Presentation Type: Poster

Hippo-YAP1-CCN2 Signaling by Microvascular Endothelial Cells Licenses Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation in APS

Presenting Author: Wenying Liang

Presentation Type: Poster

Persistent Prothrombotic Activation of Platelet Pannexin 1 Channels in APS

Presenting Author: Bruna Mazetto

Presentation Type: Poster

Neutrophil Extracellular Traps as Mediators of Antiphospholipid Antibody-Induced Trophoblast Dysfunction and Fetal Loss

Presenting Author: Christine Rysenga

Presentation Type: Poster

Non-Criteria Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Calprotectin as Potential Biomarkers in Pediatric APS

Presenting Author: Elizabeth Sloan

Presentation Type: Poster

A Genome-Wide Association Study Suggests New Susceptibility Loci for Primary APS

Presenting Author: Desire Casares

Presentation Type: Oral

Predictors of Mortality in Antiphospholipid Antibody Positive Patients: Prospective Results from the APS ACTION Clinical Database and Repository

Presenting Author: Yasaman Ahmadzadeh

Presentation Type: Poster

Transient Ischemic Attack in Antiphospholipid Antibody Positive Patients: Retrospective and Prospective Results from the APS ACTION Clinical Database and Repository

Presenting Author: Zeynep Belce Erton

Presentation Type: Poster

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13

The Future of APS - 2023 ACR/EULAR APS Classification Criteria and Beyond

Presenter: Jason Knight

Presentation Type: Oral

Infection-Associated Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Their Potential Role in Sepsis Outcomes

Presenting Author: Katarina Kmetova

Presentation Type: Oral

Purinergic Signaling as a Potential Therapeutic Target for APS Thromboinflammation

Presenting Author: Somanathapura K. NaveenKumar

Presentation Type: Oral

Plasma Proteomic Profiling in Antiphospholipid Antibody Positive Patients with Different Clinical Phenotypes: Results from the APS ACTION Registry

Presenting Author: Alexander Pine

Presentation Type: Oral

First and Recurrent Thrombosis Risk After 4,454 Patient-Years of Follow-Up: Prospective Results from the APS ACTION Clinical Database and Repository

Presenting Author: Jonathan Thaler

Presentation Type: Oral

Complement Activation as a Marker of Thrombosis Risk in Antiphospholipid Antibody Positive Patients: Prospective Results from the APS ACTION Clinical Database and Repository

Presenting Author: Cecile Yelnik

Presentation Type: Oral

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14

Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Induce Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Associate with Vascular Complications in Scleroderma

Presenting Author: Ramadan Ali

Presentation Type: Poster

More Than Complementary Pathways: Where Coagulation and Complement Converge

Moderator: Jason Knight

Presentation Type: Oral

APS Pregnancy Experience: Community-Engaged Research

Led by Dr. Alex Harper, the APS Pregnancy Experience study is seeking to understand the experiences, priorities, and concerns surrounding pregnancy for individuals diagnosed with APS.

We had great participation and are indebted to everyone who shared their time with us. We are moving to the next phase, which will include targeted interviews with some individuals who completed surveys. We hope to be able to share results in the coming months!

In Case You Missed It! DARE-APS

Since 2019, Dr. Knight and the APS Research Labs have been working with Dr. Doruk Erkan and his team at the Hospital for Special Surgery, APS ACTION, and researchers at both the National Institutes of Health and the Immune Tolerance Network to develop a first-of-its-kind clinical trial for individuals living with APS.

DARE-APS Study: We all know that new safe and effective treatments for APS are needed. In this research study, we will learn about the safety of the drug Darzalex® (daratumumab) in patients with APS and will also learn whether it reduces levels of the antiphospholipid antibodies that cause APS.

About the Study Drug: Daratumumab is an antibody that targets a protein called CD38, which is found on the surface of the immune cells that produce antiphospholipid antibodies (plasma cells). In APS, daratumumab may work by eliminating these antiphospholipid antibody-producing cells, thereby reducing damage to the body caused by antiphospholipid antibodies.

Daratumumab is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat a blood cancer called multiple myeloma. However, it has not been tested in patients with APS and is therefore considered an experimental treatment in the DARE-APS study.

Participating in DARE-APS: Participation in DARE-APS will occur in two phases. During the treatment phase, participants will receive 8 weekly intravenous (IV) doses of daratumumab. The post-treatment follow-up phase will last an additional 10 months, during which 6 monitoring clinical visits will occur.



Eligibility: You may be eligible to participate in DARE-APS if you:

• Are between ages 18 and 70
• Have a diagnosis of APS
• Do not have lupus

Learn More: To learn more, visit the DARE-APS website.

Our site (University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI) and several others are actively recruiting for this study!

SPARK BARK:

WHAT’S SPARKY UP TO A-HOUND TOWN?

by Amelia K. Knight

Previously on Spark Bark… Sparky is a 7-year-old beagle whom we adopted after he was found lollygagging on an old country stroad by a good Samaritan. Sparky is known to get into tomfoolery and one could even call him a ring leader from time to time. Alas, this bimonth he has proven this true yet again.

Sparky has recently “acquainted” himself with a gigantic black vulture. This new character on Spark Bark has been appearing on everything from our backyard trees to our house’s roof. At first, Sparky thought this must be a one-time occurrence since why would such a thing come into his area? Except this vulture kept coming back day after day. Sparky began by barking at it, but after a while, I think he started to consider it a friend. It was almost akin to his (admittedly quite spooky) guardian angel.

Deer don’t seem to bother him when the vulture is overlooking the premises. I suspect Sparky is kind of the brains behind it all though, so most of the credit goes to him. It took 7 years to add a new recurring character to Sparky's show (besides the deer, of course) so he is wondering how long he will have to wait to get more action like this. 

I thought this vulture would be all there would be to talk about this bimonth, but just this past Saturday Sparky got into more trouble. As I was leaving to go babysit down the street, Sparky suddenly slid from under the closing garage door and made a break for it. He knew this opportunity happens quite rarely, so he took things into his own paws. Sparky dashed around the nearby woods, and it turned into a free-for-all. After a while though, he decided the safety of treats and regular walks seemed more promising than aimless zooms, and I successfully herded him back into the garage with no harm done. 

That is all for this edition of Spark Bark. Sparky wishes everyone a Happy Halloween (unless you are dressing up as a deer), and we will see you all next time!

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