Dr. Louis Bessette graduated from medical school and completed his residency in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at Laval University. He trained as a fellow in clinical research at the Multipurpose Arthritis Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and received a master’s degree in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health.
He is a clinical researcher at the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Laval University, assistant professor at Laval University’s School of Medicine. Since 2014, he has been Chief of the Rheumatology Department at the CHU de Québec-Laval University. His main research interests are rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, as well as the quality of life aspects and pharmacoeconomic studies related to these diseases.
Dr. Bessette is the principal investigator of the CATCH study in Quebec City (Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort Study). CATCH is a Canadian multicentre research program that aims at improving the quality of care for people with early inflammatory arthritis. Over 2,000 people are participating in our investigator-initiated research program across Canada (100 subjects in Quebec City). This is the only Canada-wide early arthritis cohort that follows people with new onset inflammatory or rheumatoid arthritis over time to examine the course of their disease and their response to the treatments provided by their healthcare team.
He is co-investigator of the Group for Early Arthritis Research (GEAR). GEAR is a multidisciplinary team of the CHU de Québec-Laval University composed of clinicians and clinical researchers in the field of rheumatology. A model for an early arthritis clinic was put in place in 2014 to give better and earlier access to patients who suffer from rheumatic conditions. Other objectives are to collect clinical data and bio specimens on patients with early arthritis to better understand disease progression and its complications. Collecting these data and bio specimens will provide information on the population in the CHU de Québec-Laval University catchment area, and allow to elaborate strategies to improve patient care and prevent comorbid conditions in patients with early arthritis.
Dr. Bessette is co-director for the CaMOS Quebec City Centre, a large Canadian epidemiologic study in osteoporosis. He is also co-investigator of the Recognizing Osteoporosis and its Consequences in Quebec (ROCQ) Programme, a patient health-management programme aimed at evaluating the diagnostic and treatment care gaps for osteoporosis following a fragility fracture in women aged 50 years and over.
2705, boulevard Laurier
T-R-93
Québec, Québec
Canada G1V 4G2
Latest news
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Switching between Janus kinase inhibitor upadacitinib and adalimumab following insufficient response: efficacy and safety in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Journal ArticleAnn Rheum Dis, 2020, ISSN: 0003-4967.
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Safety profile of upadacitinib in rheumatoid arthritis: integrated analysis from the SELECT phase III clinical programme.
Journal ArticleAnn Rheum Dis, 2020, ISSN: 0003-4967.
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Health Assessment Questionnaire at One Year Predicts All-Cause Mortality in Patients with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Journal ArticleArthritis Rheumatol, 2020.
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Improvements in Fatigue Lag Behind Disease Remission in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results from the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort.
Journal ArticleArthritis Rheumatol, 2020.
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Impact of Ixekizumab on Work Productivity in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis: Results from the COAST-V and COAST-W Trials at 52 Weeks.
Journal ArticleRheumatol Ther, 2020, ISSN: 2198-6576.
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What are the rheumatology educational preferences of family medicine residents? A descriptive study.
Journal ArticleClin Rheumatol, 39 (8), pp. 2409-2415, 2020, ISSN: 0770-3198.
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An open-label randomized controlled trial of DMARD withdrawal in RA patients achieving therapeutic response with certolizumab pegol combined with DMARDs.
Journal ArticleRheumatology (Oxford), 59 (7), pp. 1522-1528, 2020, ISSN: 1462-0324.
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An international, multicentre, double-blind, randomized study (DISSCO): effect of diacerein vs celecoxib on symptoms in knee osteoarthritis.
Journal ArticleRheumatology (Oxford), 2020, ISSN: 1462-0324.
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Experience with tofacitinib in Canada: patient characteristics and treatment patterns in rheumatoid arthritis over 3 years.
Journal ArticleRheumatology (Oxford), 59 (3), pp. 568-574, 2020, ISSN: 1462-0324.
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Ixekizumab for patients with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (COAST-X): a randomised, placebo-controlled trial.
Journal ArticleLancet, 395 (10217), pp. 53-64, 2020, ISSN: 0140-6736.
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Active projects
- Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Subvention, Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec - Université Laval, Centres de recherche affiliés, from 2017-01-01 to 2099-12-31
- Platelets and neutrophils: the two culprits mediating pain in inflammatory arthritis, Subvention, La société d'arthrite, from 2020-01-01 to 2022-12-31
Recently finished projects
- Canadian Network for Advanced interdisciplinary Methods for Prospective Studies of Drug Safety and Effectiveness., Subvention, Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada, Subvention d'équipe : Centre de collaboration pour les études prospectives du RIEM, from 2014-09-01 to 2019-08-31
- Centre de recherche en arthrite de l'Université Laval, Subvention, Institutionnel - BDR, BDR - Entités de recherche en émergence, from 2019-01-01 to 2020-01-31