The Lupus Research Alliance has awarded grants of up to $600,000 each to seven scientists from across the U.S. to promote the development of innovative therapies for lupus, the organization announced. The initiative…

Women who were victims of physical or emotional abuse during childhood are at a higher risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) later in life, a retrospective study reports. According to the findings, exposure to extreme childhood stress and adversity may…

Psychosis is a rare manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that generally appears early, in the year before or within the first three years after SLE onset. The disorder is generally treatable, with patients fully recovering and rarely relapsing, a large international prospective study shows.

Xencor announced top-line results from its Phase 2 clinical trial testing the candidate antibody therapy XmAb5871 for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The antibody seems to help control or reduce lupus disease activity after patients have been…

Smoking was found to be associated with an increased risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) among black women, while moderate alcohol consumption significantly reduces the chances of developing the disease, a study reports. These findings are consistent with studies done in other…

IFN-alpha Kinoid, an investigational vaccine by Neovacs, has a favorable safety profile and showed encouraging signs of effectiveness in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, according to results from a Phase 2b clinical trial.  While the vaccine candidate failed to meet the trial’s primary objective — an improvement…

Lower testosterone levels might be the reason behind why women are at a higher risk than men of developing autoimmune diseases like lupus, new research suggests. Using animal models, researchers observed that testosterone inhibits the survival of B-cells, which are responsible for producing the autoantibodies that…

A new mechanism that helps to maintain immune self-tolerance and prevent autoimmune diseases was discovered using human cells and mice, new research shows. The findings identify a novel pathway that regulates tolerance in B-cells, which may provide a new diagnostic marker and therapeutic targets to…

Infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) that causes mononucleosis can increase a person’s risk of developing any of seven major autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, new and possibly ground-breaking research indicates. The study, “Transcription factors operate across disease loci, with…

A Phase 2 clinical trial testing a Corbus Pharmaceuticals’ synthetic cannabinoid derivative – lenabasum (JBT-101) – for lupus patients is underway. The therapy has no psychotropic properties and is intended to treat joint inflammation associated with lupus. If proven effective, it may offer patients a…