Researchers at Michigan State University have received a five-year $2.3 million grant to learn how the omega-3 fatty acid DHA can stop the development of systemic lupus erythematosus after exposure to silica. The team’s earlier research showed that eating food rich in DHA acted to prevent silica from…
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has started a Phase 3 clinical trial of voclosporin, which eliminated an inflammatory kidney condition known as lupus nephritis in more than half of patients tested in a Phase 2b trial. The complete response rate of 49 percent of the patients in the Phase 2b trial was…
Lupus patients should be checked for heart-valve abnormalities because the disease increases the risk of the heart condition, according to a study. Earlier research identified anti-phospholipid antibodies as a risk factor for this heart condition. The new study shows that systemic lupus erythematosus poses a risk in patients without the antibodies.
EpiVax has licensed its Tregitope technology — a new approach to harnessing the power of regulatory T-cells in autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) — to an undisclosed global pharmaceutical company. The license will allow the company to enhance its existing drug development strategy for autoimmune diseases…
A super-sensitive assay, capable of detecting minute amounts of the immune factor interferon-alpha, will aid physicians in diagnosing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as well as other autoimmune conditions linked to the factor. Interferon-alpha is an extremely potent molecule, and because of this, it is only present in tiny amounts in…
Monthly intravenous Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide) treatment was linked to a lower accumulation of lupus nephritis kidney damage than other induction therapies investigated in a study of Japanese patients. Findings indicated that a complete response to treatment at three months predicted a lower damage accumulation, prompting researchers to suggest that a sustained…
Infants with neonatal lupus syndrome can have autoantibodies that fight other autoantibodies. In this case, the autoantibodies doing the targeting are fighting SSA/Ro autoantibodies associated with the development of autoimmune diseases. Now researchers have discovered that most infants with neonatal lupus syndrome who have the autoantibodies that fight SSA/Ro develop mild…
New insights into immune cell processes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus may advance scientists’ understanding of how the immune system goes off track in the disease. Japanese researchers noted that a type of activated immune cell, called MAIT, could be an indicator of the level of disease activity. In…
Treating newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus patients with Rituxan (rituximab) is safe and effective, according to a study that followed a small group of patients over several years. A key finding was that Rituxan reduced the patients’ use of corticosteroids, which is good news because long-term steroid use can cause numerous…
The discovery of a factor that acts as a brake on the immune system’s first line of defense may lead to new strategies for fighting autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, a study reports. The factor could also impact research into antiviral therapies, vaccine adjuvants, and cancer immunotherapies. An adjuvant…