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
T0-93
Québec, Québec
Canada G1V 4G2
Latest news
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Canadian Rheumatology Association/Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada Living Treatment Recommendations for the Management of Axial Spondyloarthritis
Journal ArticleJ Rheumatol, 2024.
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A Canadian Retrospective Chart Review Evaluating Concomitant Methotrexate De-escalation Patterns in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with Biologic or Targeted Synthetic DMARDs
Journal ArticleRheumatol Ther, 11 (5), 2024.
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Risk factors for prevalent and incident hypertension in rheumatoid arthritis: data from the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort
Journal ArticleRheumatol Adv Pract, 8 (2), 2024.
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Impact of anti-rheumatic treatment on the individual components of the ACR composite score in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: real-world data
Journal ArticleClin Exp Rheumatol, 42 (9), 2024.
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Early clinical response associates with long-term outcomes with ixekizumab in radiographic axial spondyloarthritis
Journal ArticleRMD Open, 10 (3), 2024.
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Real-World Incidence and Determinants of Infection in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated With Golimumab After a Median Follow-Up Time of 27 Months
Journal ArticleJ Rheumatol, 50 (9), 2023.
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Sustained low functional impairment in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA): which are the primary outcomes that should be targeted to achieve this
Journal ArticleArthritis Res Ther, 25 (1), 2023.
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Drs. Bessette and Kinch reply
Journal ArticleJ Rheumatol, 50 (4), 2023.
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"From Where I Stand": using multiple anchors yields different benchmarks for meaningful improvement and worsening in the rheumatoid arthritis flare questionnaire (RA-FQ)
Journal ArticleQual Life Res, 32 (5), 2023.
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COVID-19 Vaccine in Immunosuppressed Adults with Autoimmune rheumatic Diseases (COVIAAD): safety, immunogenicity and antibody persistence at 12 months following Moderna Spikevax primary series
Journal ArticleRMD Open, 9 (4), 2023.
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Recently finished projects
- Platelets and neutrophils: the two culprits mediating pain in inflammatory arthritis, from 2020-01-01 to 2022-12-31