Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) was tested in laboratory mice with a systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-like disease, and was found to lower the animals’ blood pressure, levels of autoantibodies, and the number of specific white blood cells called B-lymphocytes. Patients with SLE often have high blood pressure, which may be caused by…
Voclosporin has met complete and partial remission endpoints in a clinical trial in patients with lupus nephritis (LN), said Canada’s Aurinia Pharmaceuticals. AURA-LV was a randomized, controlled double-blind Phase 2b clinical trial (NCT02141672) that compared the efficacy and safety of voclosporin with placebo in achieving remission in patients with LN, one of…
Treating newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus patients with Rituxan (rituximab) is safe and effective, according to a study that followed a small group of patients over several years. A key finding was that Rituxan reduced the patients’ use of corticosteroids, which is good news because long-term steroid use can cause numerous…
The discovery of a factor that acts as a brake on the immune system’s first line of defense may lead to new strategies for fighting autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, a study reports. The factor could also impact research into antiviral therapies, vaccine adjuvants, and cancer immunotherapies. An adjuvant…
Urinary levels of the protein albumin may help determine the amount of kidney damage in lupus nephritis patients who exhibit few symptoms, according to a study. The finding could help doctors decide which patients need a kidney biopsy. The study, “Urinary Albumin Levels Are Independently Associated With Renal Lesion…
Children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may be prone to develop infections, especially bacterial pneumonia, according to a new study. Also, the risk of infection was higher among African American and Native American children, children with lupus nephritis and other health conditions, and those under corticosteroid treatment. The findings were…
Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) has developed a biochemical testing platform that can detect biomarkers involved in autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The V-PLEX platform can detect the biomarkers IL-17A, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-27, and MIP-3α in human cell culture supernatants, or liquids, in the blood components plasma and serum,…
Evaluating heart function using an electrocardiogram (ECG) can be a useful noninvasive tool for early detection of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), researchers found. The study, “Prevalence and associated factors of resting electrocardiogram abnormalities among systemic lupus erythematosus patients without…
Neovacs and BioSense Global will jointly develop an interferon alpha (IFNα) vaccine to treat lupus and dermatomyositis in China. News of the commercial licensing agreement, worth up to €65 million, comes just days after Chinese authorities issued a patent for Neovacs’ IFNα vaccine (IFNα Kinoid) for diseases characterized by over-expression of the cytokine…
Certain variations in immune-system genes may be associated with an increased risk of Caucasians developing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a study The research, “Association between C4, C4A, and C4B copy number variations and susceptibility to autoimmune diseases: a meta-analysis,” was published in Scientific Reports. The immune system…