Sheldon Cooper
Professor of Medicine
Rheumatology Department of Medicine
University of Vermont
USA
Dr. Sheldon M. Cooper graduated from the New York University School of Medicine in 1967. He works in Burlington, VT and specializes in Rheumatology. Dr. Cooper is affiliated with Central Vermont Medical Center, Copley Hospital and UVM Medical Center Fanny Allen Campus.
Dr. Cooper’s research is focused on understanding the pathogenic mechanisms involved in rheumatoid arthritis, other types of inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis. Using this information, new therapeutic agents are developed and tested to determine both their clinical efficacy and their effect upon pathogenic pathways that result in inflammation and/or joint damage. Examples of this strategy are the studies that showed minocycline to be an effective drug for rheumatoid arthritis. Minocycline is an antibiotic that also inhibits the inflammatory response and the enzymatic processes that degrade cartilage and connective tissue. This has provided the rationale for studying whether minocycline, or other tetracycline antibiotics, can slow the progression of osteoarthritis.It has been established that biologic agents that inhibit tumor necrosis factor a (TNFa ) are remarkably effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, it is not known what cellular mechanisms and signaling pathways are influenced by anti-TNFa agents. Clinical research and in vitro studies are in progress to determine what changes occur in patients treated with anti-TNFa drugs, with emphasis on the p38 MAP kinase.
