News

NKTR-358 bolsters T-cells’ ability to respond to immune inflammatory disorders such as lupus, according to a preclinical-trial study. Nektar Therapeutics said its therapy increased levels of a subset of T-cells known as regulatory T-cells and reduced inflammation. It also generated fewer side effects than immunosuppressant drugs. The company presented the findings at the…

Low levels of red blood cells (anemia) and lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, are the most frequent hematological disorders in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a new Turkish study. The study, “Detailed features of hematological involvement and medication-induced cytopenia in systemic lupus erythematosus…

A study has identified several predictors of poor pregnancy outcomes in women with lupus, including disease flares less than six months before conception and use of  immunosuppressants. The research, “Predictors of poor obstetric outcome in women with systemic lupus erythematosus: a 10-year experience of a university hospital,”…

Older lupus patients may be at risk of developing a form of the disease that affects arms and legs, according to a study. The most common manifestation of the peripheral nervous system form of system lupus erythematosus, known as PNS-SLE, is polyneuropathy, or damage to the nerves that control the arms, hands,…

A biomarker of hardened arteries makes it eight times more likely that a lupus patient will develop a cardiovascular disease, according to a study. The presence of the marker could prompt lupus patients with no symptoms of heart disease, or who appear to be at low risk of developing it,…

Korean patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) face a greater risk of autoimmune thyroid disease, a nationwide population-based study using health insurance claims data showed. The study, “Increased risk of thyroid diseases in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A nationwide population-based study in Korea,” recently appeared in the journal PLoS…

New mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are less likely to breastfeed their infants, or to do so for a shorter span of time, than are woman without this disease — despite guidelines favoring breastfeeding throughout a baby’s first months of life, a study in Argentina reports. The study, “…

Children born to mothers with lupus may end up with developmental disabilities, according to a review of more than two dozen studies. Learning and reading difficulties and dyslexia are among the problems the children may experience as they develop, researchers said. The review, “The development of offspring from mothers…

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) has named as its newest national ambassador Dorothy Toran, who heads production at Sirens Media, a division of ITV America. Toran lost her younger sister, Weade Williams-Bridges, to lupus in September 2016. She vowed to honor her sister’s legacy by leveraging her position as a TV producer…

An ongoing online survey to examine the distribution of blood types among lupus patients could provide important information about why people develop the disease, researchers say. The survey is a collaboration between the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Scleroderma Education Project. The two groups have already conducted a similar survey among…