Patients with more severe damage caused by systemic lupus erythematosus spend four times as much on healthcare than those with the lowest levels of lupus damage, Canadian researchers said at a recent scientific meeting. The findings underscore the importance of using more effective therapies in early disease stages, lowering costs…
Progentec Diagnostics is closer to marketing a new set of tools for predicting lupus flares after obtaining $1.25 million in financing. The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation created the technology the company is using. Progentec is collaborating with Dr. Judith James, a lupus researcher who developed the technology, to refine the platform.
Patients with lupus found the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) assessment tool to be relevant, valuable, and useful in improving clinical care, according to a new study. Results from the study, which was conducted at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS)Â in New York, was presented at the…
The Lupus Foundation of America and EMD Serono have teamed up to advance a global initiative aimed at identifying critical treatment gaps and finding solutions for them. The ALPHA Project’s goal is to improve lupus care. ALPHA stands for Addressing Lupus Pillars for Health Advancement. There are two parts to the initiative.
Cellenkos announced a new collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to develop cord blood regulatory T-cell (CB TREG) therapeutics for autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders such as lupus. The company will fund up to $10 million for the CB TREG program over five years. Led by Simrit Parmar…
The rate of cardiovascular events in lupus patients increased during the second half of a 15-year period, a long-term study found. Cardiovascular events included angina (chest pain), fatal or nonfatal acute myocardial infarction (MI), transient ischemic attack (“mini-stroke”), fatal and nonfatal stroke, and cardiovascular (CV) death. The study, titled “…
Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the U.S. live on average 22 years less — and men an average of 12 fewer years — than members of the same sex among the public at large, according to new data from Stanford University. Leading causes of death for female…
With a $387,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at the University of Houston are developing a new diagnostic test for lupus patients that uses saliva instead of the standard invasive methods. Led by Chandra Mohan, MD, PhD, and a Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Endowed Professor of biomedical engineering,…
New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) says its free telephone support line and education program for lupus patients has proven to be a valuable resource. HSS says its free LupusLine, now 29 years old, receives calls from around the world. People mostly know about it through their physicians,…
The European Commission has approved the new, self-administered and injectable formulation of  Benlysta (belimumab), by GSK, as an add-on therapy for certain adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The approval applies to lupus patients with active autoantibody-positive disease and high disease activity in spite of standard therapy.