Robert J. Hoover Center for Arthritis Research

Scientists in the Robert J. Hoover Center for Arthritis Research are interested in how the nervous system, communicates, interacts and contributes to autoimmune diseases, particularly in rheumatoid arthritis.

They have found several compounds that target the sympathetic nervous system that have the ability to reduced bone deterioration by up to 70 percent in laboratory models of rheumatoid arthritis

Research at Banner Sun Health Research Institute's Center further indicates that the compound also reduces the inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Our lab and many others have demonstrated that the central nervous system and the body's immune system "communicate" with each other to alter the functions of each system. Thus, the sympathetic nervous system is normal regulator of cell and humoral mediated immunity and of inflammation that can be targeted to dampen the immune system and ameliorate joint inflammation and destruction in rheumatoid arthritis.

Our scientists developed a fibromyalgia spinal cord and brain tissue donation program. This program recruits fibromyalgia patients into our existing whole body donation program.  Tissue collected will be available for use by fibromyalgia researchers worldwide to characterize pathology, determine potential causes and treatments for fibromyalgia.

Our lab is collaborating with Dr. Linda Watkins, a leading expert researcher for neuropathic pain. Some of the tissue collected from fibromyalgia donors will be used to determine the extent to which chronic pain in fibromyalgia patients is associated with glial activation and production of proinflammatory cytokines. Dr. Watkins has extensive data in rodent models of neuropathic pain that strongly implicate activated glia as a causal factor in neuropathic pain.

The research using fibromyalgia donor tissue will provide information as to whether these research findings using rodent models of neuropathic pain translates to humans with chronic pain.

 Additional goals of the fibromyalgia program are:

• Establishing human studies targeted toward better understanding of pain, cognitive and sleep disturbances associated with fibromyalgia
• Clinical trials for new approaches for treating fibromyalgia.