Genome-Wide Association Study in African-Americans with RA

The Consortium for the Longitudinal Evaluation of African-Americans with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (CLEAR) Registry and Repository, supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), was established in 2000 to provide a resource for the scientific community to explore genetic and non-genetic factors affecting rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurrence and outcomes in African Americans. The long term objective is a database and a repository of 1,100 RA and 550 matched healthy African-American subjects. This CLEAR Registry and Repository has two arms: a longitudinal arm for subjects with early RA (enrollment from 2000 to 2005) and a cross-sectional arm for subjects with any disease duration (enrollment from 2006 to 2012). CLEAR has two components: a database and a repository. The database contains extensive demographic, socioeconomic, clinical and radiographic (radiographs of hands and feet) information and bone mineral density data from DEXA scans. The repository contains genomic DNA, plasma and serum on most of the participants. Participants in CLEAR II had RNA isolated from peripheral blood cells. ]]>
QUANTA Lite™ RF IgM ELISA 708690Cross-Sectional Registry Control Participant DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATIONConsent Form for Participation in ResearchCross-Sectional Registry RA Participant DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATIONCross-Sectional Registry RA Participant HISTORY AND PHYSICAL EXAMAxis-Shield Anti-CCPCross-Sectional Registry RA Participant REGISTRATION FORMDescription of CLEAR StudyCLEAR I Self-reported African American race/ethnicity RA for < 2 years disease duration at study entry, meeting 1987 ARA Criteria for the Classification of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Age 19 or older African-American controls group-matched for sex, age, geographic location CLEAR II Self-reported African American race/ethnicity RA diagnosis at study entry, meeting ACR Criteria Age 19 or older African-American controls matched for sex, age, geographic location and disconfirmed for RA, Lupus, and other connective tissue autoimmune disease using the Connective Tissue Disease Screening Questionnaire ]]>
CLEAR I. This longitudinal registry enrolled African Americans with early RA from 2000 until 2005. Patients with RA were identified through the practices of clinicians at each of 5 sites: University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL (Coordinating Center); Grady Hospital/Emory University, Atlanta, GA; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; Medical University of South Carolina, SC; and Washington University, St. Louis, MO. Comprehensive demographic, clinical and radiographic data were obtained from these patients at the baseline visit and at 36 and 60 months from disease onset, so the interval from the baseline visit to the subsequent visits vary some depending on disease duration at enrollment. Also current and previous drug treatments with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and glucocorticoids were annotated. CLEAR II. This cross-sectional registry enrolled African Americans with RA (without limits of disease duration) from 2006 to 2012. Comprehensive demographic, clinical and radiographic data are collected from these patients at enrollment, with no follow-up visits. Current and previous drug treatments with DMARDs and glucocorticoids were noted as in CLEAR I.]]>