Blood levels of an immune system protein called sBCMA were found elevated in untreated children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared with treated patients and healthy children in China. That’s according to a recent study, which also found that sBCMA levels declined after treatment. Higher levels of the…
A failure of tingible body macrophages (TBMs), a type of immune cell tasked with cleaning up its environment, might play a role in the development of autoimmune diseases like lupus, according to a recent study. These cells have long been poorly understood due to technical challenges in identifying them…
Black people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at a higher risk of developing heart disease — especially in the early years after their diagnosis — compared with non-Black patients, a new U.S. study found. The risk of cardiovascular disease or CVD was particularly elevated in the first 12…
Low blood levels of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) put people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at higher risk of experiencing disease exacerbations, or flare-ups, a study has found. “We found that low HCQ blood levels predicted lupus flares,” researchers wrote, noting that low levels can reflect poor treatment adherence but also individual…
Ventus Therapeutics plans to develop a new treatment candidate for lupus and other inflammatory diseases marked by the activation of the type 1 interferon immune system pathway, the company recently announced. Called VENT-03, the investigational treatment will target cGAS, a protein whose activation has been implicated in…
A small molecule called K-7174 was found to ease neuropsychiatric symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a recent study in mice, and even helped to improve cognitive function. Researchers found that treatment with the molecule may protect against neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE) by preserving the selective blood-brain barrier (BBB),…
Reduced lymphatic drainage might explain why skin reactions to sunlight, or photosensitivity, may lead to systemic immune reactions and overall disease flareups in people with systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), a study suggests. Data showed that the flow of the skin’s lymphatic fluid — which sends cells and molecular signals to…
A CAR T-cell therapy targeting disease-driving immune cells safely led to sustained disease remission for five people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who’d previously failed to respond to other treatments, a recent study reported. Treatment was also highly specific, preventing autoimmune activity, but didn’t impair general immune system…
Equillium’s investigational antibody-based treatment, itolizumab (EQ001), led to significant reductions in urine protein levels — a marker of kidney dysfunction — in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with active lupus nephritis, according to an interim analysis from the type B portion of the Phase 1b EQUALISE clinical trial.
Antibodies mounted against COVID-19 in the three to six months following vaccination were lower in patients undergoing treatment for lupus than in healthy people, a study has found. Patients with untreated lupus (also called systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE) showed a similar level of antibodies as healthy people. Fewer…