Relapsing Polychondritis
Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rheumatic autoimmune disease. It is a rare disease in which the immune system attacks the body’s cartilage. RP disease progression includes pain and deformity, which accompanies inflammation and deterioration of cartilage within the ear, nose, trachea and joints.
RP research findings are also of interest because the disease is a true tissue-specific autoimmune disease which could enlighten our understanding of other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Research Advances
Research at BRI focused on relapsing polychondritis includes:
Clinical Trials
Clinicians test new therapeutic options in clinical research studies.
Translational Research
Scientists continue to build one of the largest RP biorepositories. BRI researchers are sharing the biorepository's blood samples and clinical information with the scientific community to advance knowledge about RP and identify potential new therapies.
Laboratory Research
BRI investigates the immune mechanisms that cause RP with the goal to to understand the genes that may be linked to RP, investigate how immune cell function is altered in RP, determine whether RP shares common factors with other autoimmune diseases, and identify better treatment options.
Learn more about BRI's clinical trials and RP biorepositories.