News

Voclosporin Shows Promise as Potential Treatment for Lupus Nephritis

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals’ product candidate voclosporin continues to show promise in patients with lupus nephritis (LN), according to the company. In addition to meeting complete and partial remission endpoints at 48 weeks of the trial, treatment with voclosporin also met secondary endpoints, such as reduction in speed of remission, disease…

Ratio of Blood PTX3, Anti-PTX3 Auto-antibodies May Predict Lupus Nephritis Activity, Study Finds

A large Chinese cohort study has shown that anti-pentraxin 3 (PTX3) auto-antibodies were less prevalent in lupus nephritis patients with active disease than in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients without renal involvement, and was linked to less severe renal damage. These findings confirm the protective role of anti-PTX3 auto-antibodies in lupus nephritis. The…

Study Estimates Prevalence of BK Virus in Pediatric SLE Patients

Pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may have a higher prevalence of detectable dormant BK virus (BKV) than the general population. These are the findings from the study, “BK viruria and viremia in children with systemic lupus erythematosus,” recently published…

Weary of Apologizing for Apologizing So Much: No More!

I have a chronic illness that I share with millions of people across the globe. And I am constantly apologizing for it. Unfamiliar to the general population, this chronic illness has been nicknamed an “invisible disease” because it is an auto-immune disorder that wreaks havoc internally. In fact, until…

Benlysta Reduces Lupus Activity and Improves Patient Outcomes, Study Indicates

Benlysta reduced systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) activity and improved patient outcomes, but smokers and those with significant organ damage failed to respond as well to it, according to a Swedish study. The findings could help doctors determine which patients could benefit the most from Benlysta, also known as belimumab or LymphoStat-B. The…