Improving Outcomes in Limited Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (Limit-JIA)

Disease Area:
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)

Biosample Status:
Biosample Available

About the Limit-JIA Study

The most common type of JIA is oligoarticular JIA, also known as limited JIA. It affects four or fewer joints during the first six months of JIA diagnosis. 

About half of the children diagnosed with limited JIA will have more than four joints affected after six months, which is called extended oligoarticular JIA. When their disease progresses, children and adolescents sometimes end up with a very hard-to-treat disease with more severe symptoms.

In this study, researchers want to find out if using a biologic treatment, abatacept, soon after diagnosis improves a child’s JIA disease course. 

Researchers want to learn:

• If the use of a biologic treatment, abatacept, soon after diagnosis can prevent the disease from spreading more than other common treatments, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steroids, or other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) such as methotrexate
• The family perspective of enrolling in a research study at diagnosis

This is the first clinical trial to test whether early treatment with a biologic can prevent severe disease extension. What we learn from this study can help doctors and families make better decisions about early treatment in limited JIA.

Study Updates and Findings

This study is ongoing and does not have public findings at this time. 

About the Participants

• Children with limited JIA who are being seen at participating CARRA Registry sites. 
• Children within 6 months of diagnosis who are eligible to be enrolled in the CARRA Registry.

Families interested in participating in the study can also review more resources at LimitJIA.com

About the Study Team

Limit-JIA is funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), with additional support from Bristol-Meyers Squibb to collect blood samples. 

Lead researchers (*Principal Investigator):

• Laura Schanberg, MD, Duke Clinical Research Institute and Duke University*
• Timothy Beukelman, MD, MSCE 
• Marc Natter, MD, Boston Children’s Hospital
• Mary Beth Son, MD, Boston Children’s Hospital
• Emily von Scheven, MD, MAS, University of California, San Francisco

Patient and parent partners: 

• Vincent Del Gaizo
• Melanie Kohlheim
• Marcela Riano

To learn more about this project, please contact [email protected].