The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) recently honored Richard A. Rosenbaum, the executive chairman of the law firm Greenberg Traurig, with the Hope Award, based on the firm’s “generosity and long-standing support of lupus research and education,” according to a press release. The award was presented at the foundation’s Evening of Hope Gala in…
The Lupus Research Alliance awarded a Target Identification in Lupus grant to a team of investigators led by Kerstin Nündel, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, to fund their research projects on the disease. The $574,000 three-year grant will be used to study how a type of…
The Lupus Research Alliance recently launched a new initiative called the Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) to accelerate the identification and development of new therapies to treat lupus. LuCIN was originally created as a continuation of a project that the Lupus Research Alliance had initiated for drug repurposing…
Measuring the level of certain pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may help to identify those patients with kidney inflammation (nephritis), and so that treatments can begin that might halt the progression to kidney failure. The study, “Serum Cytokines Th1, Th2, and…
Metabolic profiles may be used to identify patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, and, more importantly, to distinguish between lupus patients with and without kidney disease. The study, “NMR based serum metabolomics reveals a distinctive signature in patients with Lupus Nephritis,” published in the journal Scientific Reports,…
Researchers have found that a group of proteins in wheat may be responsible for triggering inflammation in chronic conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. The protein could also contribute to the development of non-celiac gluten sensitivity. How gluten, another wheat protein, can harm people who are celiac and non-celiac gluten sensitive is…
Researchers identified 23 genes associated with a predisposition for vitiligo, an autoimmune disease characterized by patches of skin and hair that lack pigmentation. Their discovery may lead to a better understanding of other autoimmune conditions, such as lupus. The study, “Genome-wide association studies of autoimmune vitiligo identify 23 new risk loci…
Inhibiting a branch of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway may be an effective therapy against cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), according to a recent report. The study, “JAK3 as an Emerging Target for Topical Treatment of Inflammatory Skin Diseases,” was recently published in PLOS One. A crucial harmful pathway in inflammatory skin diseases,…
Researchers have identified novel biomarkers for lupus nephritis (LN), a disease that affects several patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a study published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology. The authors reported these biomarkers can accurately indicate disease development and predict therapeutic effectiveness. The study is titled “…
High levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 are associated with higher disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a finding that suggests IL-10 can be a potential blood biomarker for SLE. The study, “Clinical associations of IL-10 and IL-37 in systemic lupus erythematosus,” was published in the journal…