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The clinical activities focus upon treating patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases, as well as those with degenerative disease. These patients can be treated in the ambulatory care unit, as an daypatient, or if needed, as an inpatient within the Clinic III. The Rhein-Main Rheumatology Center is located at the University Clinic, which is also a member the Regional Cooperative Rheumatology Center (funded by BMG/ BMBF).The university uses its own ambulatory care unit to carry out clinical studies. Both the interdisciplinary clinical research (psoriatic arthritis, connective tissue diseases and vasculitis) along with the basic research take place in close cooperation with the Center of Dermatology. The Institute for Rheumatology is able to pursue and coordinate clinical studies, coach drug approval proceedings, and runs its own research lab for experimental rheumatology. Emphasis is placed upon the evaluation of patho-mechanisms, as well as the effects of therapeutics and genetic dispositions. This is done with the use of primary patient tissues (blood, joint tissues, synovial cell-cultures). Patient tissue is obtained in collaboration with the arthritis surgery department. Specific methods were established to carry out investigations of the role cytokines play in inflammation, with an emphasis upon IL-18, IL-10, IFNg, TNFa and others. Polymorphism analyses are performed on large patient groups (rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis psoriatica are emphasized). The cause of anemia of chronic diseases is examined, along with the molecular effects of the therapy with erythropoietin.
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