Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has completed the initial analysis of voclosporin in its AURION trial, an open label, single arm, exploratory trial examining patients with active lupus nephritis (LN) taking voclosporin 23.7 mg. twice daily in combination with standard of care, mycophenolate mofetil, and corticosteroids. The study is assessing biomarkers of disease…
Research conducted on medical records from over a quarter million adult patients found that African-Americans with connective tissue diseases were twice as likely to suffer complications that increase the risk of a heart attack, stroke, or death. The study, “The Prevalence of Atherosclerosis in Those with…
Lupus patients are more likely to have high levels of prothrombotic antibodies that interact with cell membrane phospholipids (PLs), which are thought to be a possible cause of maternal morbidity. Now, researchers have identified a specific antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) that appears to predict the likelihood of pregnancy complications. The study, “Lupus anticoagulant is…
Researchers investigating how diet affects disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, determined via glucocorticoid (GC) treatment, found that dietary vitamin D does not protect against lupus activity while beta-carotene, fatty acid C18:2, and vitamin B6 might have a protective role. Alcohol was also negatively associated with GC treatment, indicating that moderate…
A recently released study in the journal Rheumatology titled “Mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus in the United Kingdom 1999-2012,” shows higher mortality rates among people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared to those without the disease. The study, led by senior researcher Dr. Weiya Zhang, M.D.,…
Lupus during pregnancy increases the likelihood of health complications for women and their babies, according to a study, “What to expect when expecting with SLE: A population-based study of maternal and fetal outcomes in SLE and pre-SLE,” published in the journal Arthritis Care and Research. Adverse pregnancy outcomes…
In a review titled “Immunoregulation of NKT Cells in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus,” published in the Journal of Immunology Research, researchers summarized the role of a specific class of immune cells – natural killer T (NKT) cells – highlighting their potential as a new therapeutic target for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has announced its AURA-LV clinical study has completed enrollment and will be treating a total of 265 lupus patients, surpassing its target of 258 patients. AURA-LV (Aurinia Urine protein Reduction in Active Lupus nephritis) is a Phase 2b is randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trial to compare the efficacy of voclosporin…
An international team of researchers has identified 10 new genes associated with the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that might constitute potential therapeutic targets for the disease. The research paper, “High-density genotyping of immune-related loci identifies new SLE risk variants in individuals with Asian ancestry,” was published in Nature Genetics.
A recent study revealed that mitochondria induce inflammation in lupus through the release of reactive oxygen species into neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). The research, “Neutrophil extracellular traps enriched in oxidized mitochondria DNA are interferogenic and contribute to lupus-like disease,” offers hope for new lupus treatments. Neutrophils are white blood cells…