SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS IN GULLAH HEALTH (SLEIGH)

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中利用 资源由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目和 调查员(PI)可能从NIH的另一个来源获得了主要资金， 并因此可以在其他清晰的条目中表示。列出的机构是 该中心不一定是调查人员的机构。 SLE in Gullah Health(雪橇)研究是一项观察性队列研究，研究对象是居住在南卡罗来纳州和佐治亚州海岛地区的非裔美国人Gullah人口中的患者、他们的家庭成员和无关的对照组。雪橇研究的目的是研究环境和遗传对系统性红斑狼疮的影响。非洲裔美国人Gullah群体的遗传同质性和稳定的家庭单位是独一无二的，使他们成为研究SLE等多基因疾病的宝贵队列。我们在雪橇研究中的中心假设是，有特定的遗传因素与环境暴露相互作用，导致SLE的发展。 与高加索人相比，非裔美国人的系统性红斑狼疮的发病率增加了三倍，发展得更早，与系统性红斑狼疮相关的发病率和死亡率也增加了。包括遗传、环境和社会经济因素在内的多种因素很可能是导致系统性红斑狼疮种族差异的原因。然而，仅靠社会经济和遗传差异不能解释过去20年中系统性红斑狼疮患病率的显著增加，也不能解释系统性红斑狼疮在西非和美国之间的梯度，西非是一种罕见的疾病，美国是系统性红斑狼疮的流行国家。后一项研究结果表明，环境因素在起作用。 系统性红斑狼疮(SLE)的研究目的是确定其病因，提高对其的认识，并帮助寻找新的治疗方法。这项研究的一个非常重要的部分是帮助找到导致狼疮的基因，并解释它们是如何工作的。了解这些基因是什么，以及它们是如何工作的，有望有助于推动狼疮诊断测试和狼疮治疗的进步。狼疮是一种可能影响许多不同器官系统的疾病，它对人的影响往往因人而异。科学家将使用样本和从受试者中挑选的信息来实现这一目的。这些科学家将在俄克拉荷马州和其他地方工作。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The SLE in Gullah Health (SLEIGH) study is an observational cohort study of patients, their family members, and unrelated controls from the African American Gullah population living in the Sea Island areas of South Carolina and Georgia. The purpose of the SLEIGH study is to study both environmental and genetic contributions to SLE. The African American Gullah population is unique in its genetic homogeneity and stable family unit, making them a valuable cohort for the study of multigenic diseases such as SLE. Our central hypothesis in the SLEIGH study is that there are specific genetic factors that interact with environmental exposures leading to the development of SLE. African Americans have a three-fold increased incidence of SLE, develop SLE at an earlier age, and have increased SLE-related morbidity and mortality compared with Caucasians. It is likely that multiple factors, including genetic, environmental, and socioeconomic factors, underlie the ethnic disparity in SLE. Socioeconomic and genetic differences alone, however, cannot explain the significant increase in prevalence of SLE in the past 20 years or the gradient of SLE between West Africa where it is a rare disease, and the United States where it is prevalent. These latter findings suggest environmental factors are at play. The purpose of the study of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is to determine its cause, to improve understanding of it, and to help find new therapies. One very important part of this study is to help find the genes that cause lupus and to explain how they work. Learning what the genes are and how they work is expected to help lead toward advances that improve the diagnostic tests for lupus and the therapies for lupus. Lupus is a disease that may affect many different organ systems and how it affects people is often very different from person to person. Scientists will use samples and selected information from subjects to achieve this purpose. These scientists will be working both in Oklahoma and in other places.