Chikungunya arthritis
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an alphavirus spread by mosquitos that causes persistent arthritis in approximately 25% of people two years after initial infection. There is currently no standard evidence-based treatment for CHIKV chronic arthritis. A major goal of the Chang laboratory is to guide the evidence-based treatment of CHIKV arthritis. Towards this goals we are currently assessing the role of interleukin-2 in an observational cohort in Colombia and mouse model and establishing a randomized controlled trial of methotrexate treatment of chikungunya arthritis in Colombia.
Dengue fever vascular permeability syndrome
Dengue virus is a flavivirus spread by mosquitos for which the main cause of morbidity and mortality is vascular permeability syndrome. The Chang laboratory is currently investigating the role of dengue non-structural protein-1 in dengue vascular permeability and establishing a clinical trial of zanamivir for treatment of this pathology in Colombia.
Zika-induced Guillain-Barré syndrome
Zika virus is a flavivirus spread by mosquitos that causes neurologic damage. The Chang laboratory has reported the clinical outcomes of patients with Zika-induced Guillain- Barré syndrome and investigated the role of antibodies in its pathogenesis.