Autoimmune diseases such as acute systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have characteristically high levels of autoantibodies in afflicted patients’ serum. These antibodies are produced by antibody-secreting cells (ASCs), which are a relatively unstudied population of cells. One research group from the Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, at Emory University in…
In a new study entitled “T-cell exhaustion, co-stimulation and clinical outcome in autoimmunity and infection” researchers discovered how T-cell exhaustion can determine the outcome of autoimmune diseases, suggesting that therapeutics targeting the underlying mechanism of T-cell exhaustion can benefit patient outcomes in diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus. The…
In a new study entitled “Tumor necrosis factor-alpha single nucleotide polymorphisms in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus” researchers investigated genetic variants, specifically those known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, within the gene tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine that was previously suggested to play a role in juvenile…
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s 2016 spending bill passed June 25 includes some good news for people with lupus. Sandra C. Raymond, President & CEO of the Lupus Foundation of America notes in a statement that the bill provides support for funding of valuable lupus research and education programs, and…
Dr. Christine A. Peschken from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg presented data on lupus disease in a Canadian cohort of patients, during the 70th Annual Meeting of The Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) in Quebec, Canada. The poster was entitled “Residual Lupus Disease Activity in a…
Recent findings might help ease concerns for women suffering with lupus and interested in having a child. New research concluded that most women diagnosed with lupus and whose disease is not very active can go through a safe pregnancy. The results were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. It has been suggested that women with…
Kadmon Corporation, LLC, a biopharmaceutical company focused on autoimmune, fibrotic, metabolic diseases and the oncology field, recently announced promising preclinical data on its KD025 drug in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The data was presented in May 2015 at the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Annual…
Susan Manzi, Chair of the Department of Medicine at Allegheny Health Network, was recently presented with the Lupus Foundation of America’s (LFA) National Advocacy Leadership Award. The LFA awarded those with exquisite and distinguished researched who lead and support biomedical innovation to accelerate the development of novel treatments for illnesses such as lupus.
Anthera Pharmaceuticals recently announced it has completed the enrolment of patients for its CHABLIS-SC1 Phase 3 study evaluating blisibimod as a lupus treatment. The company expects to have final data from the trial by the end of 2016. “Reaching our enrollment target for CHABLIS-SC1 ahead of schedule is an important accomplishment,” said in…
An international team led by researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel recently published in the journal Immunity their finding that mutations in a gene known as autoimmune regulator (AIRE) are linked to different autoimmune phenotypes.