Massachusetts General Hospital

Biography

Research: I co-founded the Vasculitis Center at Johns Hopkins University and directed a multi-center, randomized clinical trial in Wegener's granulomatosis. The results of this trial were published in The New England Journal of Medicine (2005). I am currently the Co-PI of a second multi-center clinical trial in ANCA-associated vasculitis: Rituximab in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis HRAVe). The primary results of this trial were recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine (2010).

My most current research interest pertains to an emerging disease known as IgG4-related systemic disease (IgG4-RSD). My research group at the MGH made the seminal observation that rituximab therapy leads to the targeted reduction of the IgG4 subclass of immunoglobulins in this disorder.

Teaching: I gave the Sir James Cameron Lecture at the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh) in 2003. I delivered the Dunlop-Dottridge Lecture at the Canadian Rheumatology Association (2007), and gave the Woodbury Lecture at Dalhousie University in 2010.

Research

Research: I co-founded and directed the Vasculitis Center at Johns Hopkins University, where I directed a multi-center, randomized clinical trial in Wegener's granulomatosis. The results of this trial were published in The New England Journal of Medicine (2005). This trial, the first-ever NIH-funded randomized clinical trial in vasculitis, paved the way for subsequent trials and investigations in vasculitis on an international scale.

I am currently the Co-PI of a second multi-center clinical trial in ANCA-associated vasculitis: Rituximab in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis (RAVe). This trial, which includes 8 centers in both the United States and Europe, is sponsored by the Immune Tolerance Network (NIAID). The primary results of this trial were recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine (2010).

My most current research interest pertains to an emerging disease known as IgG4-related systemic disease (IgG4-RSD). My research group at the MGH made the seminal observation that rituximab therapy leads to the targeted reduction of the IgG4 subclass of immunoglobulins in this disorder, with maintenance of normal levels of other IgG subclasses.

Publications

Selected Research Investigation Publications

25. The WGET Research Group (Principal Investigator and Chairman, Writing Committee: Stone JH). Etanercept Plus Standard Therapy for Wegener's Granulomatosis. N Engl J Med 2005;352(4):351-61.

Khosroshahi A, Bloch DB, Deshpande V, Stone JH. Rituximab therapy leads to swift decline of serum IgG4 levels and prompt clinical improvement in IgG4-related systemic disease. Arthritis & Rheumatism 2010; 62:1755-62.

68. Stone JH, Merkel PA, Spiera R et al. Rituximab Compared With Cyclophosphamide For Remission Induction In ANCA-Associated Vasculitis. N Engl J Med 2010; 363:221-32.

Ramos-Casals M, Stone JH, Cid MC, Bosch X. The Cryoglobulinaemias. The Lancet (In press, February, 2011).

Researchers Identify Possible New Treatment for Severe Vasculitis

Investigators have made a major advance in treating people with a rare but devastating disease of blood vessels.