Prof. dr. Loic Guillevin from France and Prof. dr. Cees G.M. Kallenberg from the Netherlands join the CSSA Advisory Board.

Two highly respected vasculitis researchers, Pr. Loic Guillevin of the French Vasculitis Study Group and Pr. Cees G.M. Kallenberg of the University Hospital Groningen in the Netherlands, have accepted invitations to serve on the CSSA Medical Advisory Board. The CSSA is grateful for their association with our organization and for their highly regarded research in the field of vasculitis. Because of the rarity of CSS and the fact that patients are scattered throughout the world, the CSSA is thrilled that researchers from many countries are working together to study Churg-Strauss syndrome.

Pr. Loic Guillevin

Pr. Cees G.M. Kallenberg

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pr Guillevin

Jane Dion, Director of the CSSA, and Pr. Loic Guillevin at the Vasculitis Foundation Consensus Conference in Chicago in January, 2006.

Dr. Guillevin and his collaborator, Dr. Christian Pagnoux, sent the following article as an introduction to Dr. Guillevin and the French Vasculitis Study Group:

Pr. Loïc GUILLEVIN and his research group, the French Vasculitis Study Group

Pr. Loïc Guillevin is a specialist in internal medicine, who has been involved for many years in the management and care of patients affected by systemic vasculitides, like Churg–Strauss syndrome, but also Wegener’s granulomatosis, classical or hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related polyarteritis nodosa, microscopic polyangiitis or mixed essential cryoglobulinemia. In the early 1980’s, he created a research network in France dedicated to vasculitides and called it the French Vasculitis Study Group (FVSG), in which more than 600 French physicians have been regularly involved.

Very early on, the group developed international contacts, e.g., with Belgium or the United Kingdom, and actively participates in the European Vasculitis Study (EUVAS) Group and the International Network for the Study of Systemic Vasculitides (INSSYS). More than 20 prospective therapeutic trials have been conducted so far by the FVSG, with subsequent publications in renowned international medical journals. Concerning Churg–Strauss syndrome, the FVSG’s main studies have provided essential information on its frequency in France [1], its predisposing and precipitating factors [2-4], its clinical presentation [5-7], evolution, prognostic factors [8-11] and treatment [12-15].

One of the major practical findings in/derived from those studies is that patients with the most severe forms of the disease, identified as those having specific renal, cardiac, gastrointestinal and/or central nervous system involvement, should receive a combination of corticosteroids and immunosuppressant, mostly monthly cyclophosphamide pulses. Conversely, those patients without poor prognostic factors can be treated with corticosteroids alone. Ongoing and planned studies are aimed at further improving our knowledge concerning the pathophysiogenesis of Churg–Strauss syndrome, based upon developing laboratory research activities, optimizing therapy, in conjunction with an attempt to reduce sequelae related to the disease or its treatment, and finally, to lower the number of patients who, despite having achieved remission, remain persistently corticodependent, primarily because of their asthma.

Pr Loïc Guillevin and his main collaborators (Pr Luc Mouthon, Dr Pascal Cohen, Dr Alfred Mahr, Dr Christian Pagnoux, Dr Véronique Le Guern, Dr Boris Bienvenu) are currently based in the Department of Internal Medicine, Hôpital Cochin, Université Paris 5, Paris, France (groupe.vascularite@cch.aphp.paris).

In 2003, the FVSG created its web homepage, http://www.vascularite.com , which is primarily dedicated to continuing medical education, but the development of a patients’ homepage, with the help of patients and patients’ associations, is planned for the very near future.

1. Mahr, A, L Guillevin, M Poissonnet, S Aymé. Prevalences of polyarteritis nodosa, microscopic polyangiitis, Wegener's granulomatosis, and Churg–Strauss syndrome in a French urban multiethnic population in 2000: a capture–recapture estimate. Arthritis Rheum 2004; 51: 92-9.

2. Guilpain, P, JF Viallard, P Lagarde, P Cohen, M Kambouchner, JL Pellegrin, et al. Churg–Strauss syndrome in two patients receiving montelukast. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2002; 41: 535-9.

3. Pagnoux, C, P Guilpain, T Hauser, L Guillevin. Churg–Strauss syndrome and leukotriene modifying agents. Clinical Pulmonary Medicine 2004; 11: 349-54.

4. Guillevin, L, T Guittard, O Blétry, P Godeau, P Rosenthal. Systemic necrotizing angiitis with asthma: causes and precipitating factors in 43 cases. Lung 1987; 165: 165-72.

5. Guillevin, L, F Lhote, V Gallais, B Jarrousse, I Royer, M Gayraud, et al. Gastrointestinal tract involvement in polyarteritis nodosa and Churg–Strauss syndrome. Ann Méd Interne (Paris) 1995; 146: 260-7.

6. Guillevin, L, P Cohen, M Gayraud, F Lhote, B Jarrousse, P Casassus. Churg–Strauss syndrome. Clinical study and long-term follow-up of 96 patients. Medicine (Baltimore) 1999; 78: 26-37.

7. Sable-Fourtassou R, Cohen P, Mahr A, Pagnoux C, Mouthon L, Jayne D, et al. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and the Churg-Strauss syndrome. Ann Intern Med. 2005 Nov 1;143:632-8.

8. Guillevin, L, F Lhote, M Gayraud, P Cohen, B Jarrousse, O Lortholary, et al. Prognostic factors in polyarteritis nodosa and Churg–Strauss syndrome. A prospective study in 342 patients. Medicine (Baltimore) 1996; 75: 17-28.

9. Guillevin, L, D Lê Thi Huong, P Godeau, P Jaïs, B Wechsler. Clinical findings and prognosis of polyarteritis nodosa and Churg–Strauss angiitis: a study in 165 patients. Br J Rheumatol 1988; 27: 258-64.

10. Guillevin, L, F Lhote, B Jarrousse, O Fain. Treatment of polyarteritis nodosa and Churg–Strauss syndrome. A meta-analysis of 3 prospective controlled trials including 182 patients over 12 years. Ann Méd Interne (Paris) 1992; 143: 405-16.

11. Mouthon, L, P Le Toumelin, MH André, M Gayraud, P Casassus, L Guillevin. Polyarteritis nodosa and Churg–Strauss angiitis: characteristics and outcome in 38 patients over 65 years. Medicine (Baltimore) 2002; 81: 27-40.

12. Guillevin, L, B Jarrousse, C Lok, F Lhote, JP Jaïs, D Lê Thi Huong, et al. Longterm followup after treatment of polyarteritis nodosa and Churg–Strauss angiitis with comparison of steroids, plasma exchange and cyclophosphamide to steroids and plasma exchange. A prospective randomized trial of 71 patients. The Cooperative Study Group for Polyarteritis Nodosa. J Rheumatol 1991; 18: 567-74.

13. Guillevin, L, F Lhote, P Cohen, B Jarrousse, O Lortholary, T Généreau, et al. Corticosteroids plus pulse cyclophosphamide and plasma exchanges versus corticosteroids plus pulse cyclophosphamide alone in the treatment of polyarteritis nodosa and Churg–Strauss syndrome patients with factors predicting poor prognosis. A prospective, randomized trial in sixty-two patients. Arthritis Rheum 1995; 38: 1638-45.

14. Gayraud, M, L Guillevin, P Cohen, F Lhote, P Cacoub, P Deblois, et al. Treatment of good-prognosis polyarteritis nodosa and Churg–Strauss syndrome: comparison of steroids and oral or pulse cyclophosphamide in 25 patients. French Cooperative Study Group for Vasculitides. Br J Rheumatol 1997; 36: 1290-7.

15. Pagnoux, C, P Cohen, A Mahr, T Hauser, L Mouthon, J Arène, et al. Treatment of Churg–Strauss syndrome with poor prognosis factor(s): results of a prospective randomized multicenter trial comparing corticosteroids and 6 vs. 12 pulses of cyclophophamide [abstract]. Arthritis Rheum 2003; 48: S-661.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pr Cees G.M. Kallenberg

Prof. Dr. Cees G.M. Kallenberg of the University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands is a highly respected researcher in the field of vasculitis. He has written and co-authored many articles pertaining to vasculitis and Churg Strauss syndrome, some of which are referenced at the end of this article.

Following is information about the career of this noted researcher:

Cees G.M. Kallenberg, born May 26, 1946, got his medical training at the Medical School of the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. After getting his degree as a MD in 1972, he got additional training in surgery and served as a military MD in the Dutch Army. In 1975 he started his training as a resident in Internal Medicine at the Groningen University Hospital and was registered as internist in 1980. He worked as an internist and finished his PhD studies on the subject "Raynaud's phenomenon and Systemic Autoimmune Disease" successfully in 1982. He further trained in immunology and medical immunology and was registered as immunologist and medical immunologist. He was appointed as associate professor in Internal Medicine - Clinical Immunology in 1985 and as full professor in 1993. He is chairing the Department of Clinical Immunology at the Groningen University and is involved in patient care, teaching and research in Clinical Immunology. His department is a tertiary referral center for Clinical Immunology and is involved in national and international studies. His main research is directed on systemic autoimmune diseases, in particular systemic lupus erythematosus and ANCA-associated vasculitides. He has written more than 300 articles on those subjects in international peer-reviewed journals, gives lectures as an invited speaker on his research topics on all major international meetings, and is editorial board member of several journals in clinical immunology, nephrology and rheumatology.

Here are some articles written or co-authored by Dr. Kallenberg that can be found on PubMed, the US National Library of Medicine's search service that allows anyone with internet access to look for medical articles free of charge. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcg

Kallenberg CG. Related Articles, Links http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcg