ACR/EULAR Seeking Collaborations to Update Disease Criteria

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has announced that, together with EULAR (the European Union League Against Rheumatism), it is interested in proposals for:

(1) new collaborative projects that will revisit or revise classification criteria that have been outdated by progress in science or treatment;

(2) response criteria for evaluating change in disease status in clinical trials and possibly practice; and

(3) consensus projects aimed at establishing standards for conduct of clinical trials in rheumatic disease.

The two societies are particularly interested in the following priority areas derived from rheumatology community feedback and internal discussions:

Classification criteria for childhood arthritis, undifferentiated connective tissue disease, and Macrophage Activation Syndrome (MAS) in adults;

Response criteria for lupus, osteoarthritis, and vasculitis;

Revised criteria for Reiter's Syndrome/Reactive Arthritis.

The deadline for submission of a declaration of interest, project outline, and disclosure/CV information is May 1, 2014. Full proposals are due on August 29 and funding will become available in July 2015.

For further information contact Regina Parker at rparker@rheumatology.org.