The current pandemic offers a chance to improve our understanding of how infections such as COVID-19 affect patients with autoimmune inflammatory diseases. We can assess the impact of the medication used to treat their disease on infection and how infections affect their psychological health.

Patients with autoimmune inflammatory diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) have weakened immune systems which can lead to damage of healthy tissues and organs. Treatments rely on the long-term use of antimalarial (AM) drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. It is not known whether SLE and RA patients are at more risk for or protected against developing severe complications of viral infections such as COVID-19 or how treatment with AM drugs affects that risk.

Canada is well suited to do this research because we have several ongoing research studies that follow people with RA and SLE who take these AM drugs. Also, we have a current bank of blood samples from these patients, collected before COVID-19. As a result, the researchers have a baseline to see who becomes infected with the virus and how the AM drugs affect the infection.

This research will create a collection of biological samples that we could use to answer questions like: 1) How do genetic differences in people affect the severity of disease and 2) How will compromised immune systems react to a new vaccine?

Canadian researchers will be able to do this research quickly, safely, accurately and collaboratively across the country without affecting the supply of these drugs because these patients are already taking them.