National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, 45 Center Drive, MSC 6500, Natcher Building, Room 5AS13A, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-6500

A -- NATIONAL EPIDERMOLYSIS BULLOSA REGISTRY SOL RFP NIH-NIAMS-97-1 DUE 081596 POC Contact Point, Eileen Webster-Cissel, 301/594-2543 The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) announces the availability of a request for proposals for the continuation of a National Epidermolysis Bullosa Registry. The Registry will be aimed at searching for the basic defect, improving methods of diagnosis, and developing effective methods in treatment and prevention and shall be continued to: (a) Develop a roster of well-characterized patients with the different forms of Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). Selected patients will be requested to contribute specimens and to be followed as part of diagnostic, research, and in some cases, therapeutic protocols; (b) Determine with accuracy and precision the incidence and prevalence of disease by clinical genetic type in a sufficiently broad geographic region to permit extrapolation of data to the United States as a whole; (c) Increase information on genetics, particularly family patterns or sporadic occurrence of disease, including penetrance and severity; (d) Assess disease distribution geographically, to search for clusters and patterns and assess the societal and economic impact of the disease; (e) Develop a pool of patients of the same genetic type for a wide variety of studies on pathogenesis and genetics of EB, including support for the banking of appropriate tissue specimens; and (f) Foster and support well-designed and well-executed clinical trials of new therapeutic interventions in carefully selected groups of patients with one or another form of EB. The Government anticipates awarding one cost-reimbursement contract as a result of this solicitation. RFP NIH-NIAMS-97-1 will be available on or about August 15, 1996 and proposals will be due on or about October 15, 1996. To receive a copy of the RFP, please supply this office with two (2) self-addressed mailing labels. Since a limited number of copies will be printed, requests will be filled on a first-come first-served basis, until the supply is exhausted. This advertisement does not commit the Government to award a contract. (0212)

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