Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) showed significant improvements and decreased disease severity when treated with a combined therapy of belimumab and standard of care measures for up to 24 months, according to results of a two-year study. The study, “Response to belimumab among patients with systemic…
A new edition of “The Autoimmune Connection: Essential Information for Women on Diagnosis, Treatment and Getting on with Your Life” received praise from the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), which called the book “the ultimate resource for women with autoimmune diseases.” Written by the award-winning journalist Rita Baron-Faust and lupus…
A study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine demonstrates that a particular cell-signalling protein is crucial for the formation of autoreactive B-cells in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but not for the formation of B-cells fighting infections. The finding of this autoimmune mechanism opens up the possibility for the development…
QuesGen Systems, a provider of research services to organizations and scientists working on brain health and treatments for traumatic brain injury (TBI), is expanding its business and has announced the establishment of a new business relationship with ImmunArray, a private diagnostics company with headquarters in Rehovot, Israel, and…
The bone disorder known as idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) might be caused by high-dose steroid therapy — a common treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A research team at Kyoto University Hospital, Japan, has developed a minimally invasive method to save the thighbone from breaking down,…
In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, intestinal dysbiosis is associated with activation of pro-inflammatory cells. As such, rescuing gut microbiota with beneficial bacteria strains improves patients’ inflammatory profile, according to a study entitled “Th17 responses and natural IgM antibodies are related to gut microbiota composition in systemic lupus erythematosus patients”…
Corbus Pharmaceuticals announced the addition of a protocol amendment to one of the company’s existing Investigational New Drug (IND) Applications with the FDA for a Phase 2 clinical trial of Resunab for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an important step to initiate a multicenter placebo-controlled SLE trial. The clinical study,…
In a landmark study, principal researcher Virginia Pascual at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, and colleagues, investigated the molecular diversity of lupus and found that a personalized immuno-monitoring approach allows for classification of patients into specific disease groups. Researchers believe these results may explain why lupus clinical trials have a low success rate…
British Columbia-based Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has announced positive results from the fourth and final safety review of the company’s Phase 2b AURA LV clinical trial, which is evaluating the efficacy of its lead drug voclosporin as a treatment for active lupus nephritis. The review was conducted by the Data and Safety…
Researchers found that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at a specific genomic location, the FCGR2B-FCRLA locus, is involved in the response of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis patients to cyclophosphamide treatment. The research, “Response to Intravenous Cyclophosphamide Treatment for Lupus Nephritis Associated with Polymorphisms in the FCGR2B-FCRLA Locus,” was published in The…