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Autoantibodies targeting certain regulatory RNAs — molecules that serve as the template for protein production — in the brains of lupus patients are unique to these people and involved in neuropsychiatric symptoms of the disease, a study reports. The study, “Neuronal BC RNA transport impairments caused by systemic lupus erythematosus autoantibodies,”…

In conditions with complicated diagnostic processes, like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), research done using healthcare databases may be affected by tentative diagnoses, a study reports. Using an Estonian database, researchers found that only 60% of people with a diagnostic code for SLE actually had the condition, as confirmed…

Abnormal blood pressure patterns during sleep and overall high blood pressure may independently predict cardiovascular disease in patients with juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE), according to a recent update on research supported by the Lupus Foundation of America. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients have an increased risk…

Provention Bio has dosed the first lupus patient enrolled in the Phase 1b/2 trial testing the safety and pharmaceutical properties of its experimental B-cell-targeted therapy PRV-3279. Results from the first part of the PREVAIL study, done in healthy volunteers, are expected for the first half of 2020.

An international panel of experts on lupus has defined key issues that need to be overcome — with disease variability being the biggest challenge — to improve the clinical outcomes of patients living with the disease, as part of the Addressing Lupus Pillars for Health Advancement (ALPHA) project.

Systemic lupus erythematous patients with antibodies against the protein LINE-1 p40 are more likely to have active and severe disease, a study shows. Since the presence of antibodies against p40 likely represents an early immune response, testing for it may help diagnose the disease earlier on, researchers…

Changes in gut bacteria, or microbiota, during pregnancy and lactation can shift the immune response towards a more pro-inflammatory state that can bolster autoimmune responses and worsen lupus, a mouse study suggests. Pregnant and lactating mice were found to have increased production of inflammatory mediators and dampening of anti-inflammatory…

A treatment regimen that maximizes the use of hydroxychloroquine, pulse methyl-prednisolone, and methotrexate — while reducing doses of oral prednisone — leads to better outcomes, including prolonged clinical remission, among people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a study suggests. The study, “Prolonged remission in SLE…

B-cells in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are distinct from those in healthy people, even at very early stages in B-cell development, a new study shows. The study with that finding, “Epigenetic programming underpins B cell dysfunction in human SLE,” was published in Nature Immunology.

Progentec, a company developing new diagnostic technologies for chronic conditions, has been awarded $1.7 million to validate its blood biomarker test as an accurate tool for measuring disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the company announced. The Fast-Track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant is from the…