Alliance awards over $2M for lifestyle intervention studies in lupus
Pilot projects will examine effects of supplements, exercise, empowerment
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The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) has announced more than $2 million in funding for three new pilot projects that focus on innovative lifestyle interventions — from supplements to physical exercise — for people with lupus.
The research teams behind each project will receive up to $750,000 over three years to investigate how their proposed lifestyle intervention may benefit people with the chronic condition, which can affect virtually every part of the body. The new funding, provided through the LRA’s Mechanistic Clinical Award program, will specifically support studies on ginger supplements, home-based physical exercise, and a whole health empowerment program.
“Lifestyle interventions hold great promise for improving outcomes in lupus, but research in this area remains chronically underfunded,” Kari Fischer, PhD, the LRA’s scientific program officer, said in a press release from the nonprofit detailing the projects led by the three recipients awarded funding.
“From diet to mental health, social connection, and more, these interventions deserve serious biological exploration to illuminate their underlying effects,” Fischer said.
In lupus, the immune system attacks the body’s own healthy tissue, resulting in a range of symptoms with wide-ranging effects, from skin issues to kidney and bladder inflammation to problems with joints, muscles, and bones. The main goal of available treatments is to reduce the autoimmune response that causes the disease. Still, many people with lupus use other strategies, including lifestyle interventions, to ease their symptoms.
3 funded projects focus on different lifestyle interventions
According to the foundation, the funded research was selected following a “highly competitive review process.”
One of the projects will investigate whether ginger supplementation — a widely used dietary supplement — can reduce harmful immune activity in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the most common form of lupus.
Led by Jason Knight, MD, PhD, a reumatologist and professor at the University of Michigan, the project builds on previous studies by the research team involving laboratory and animal models, as well as healthy people. The research to date has shown that certain compounds in ginger can reduce activation of neutrophils, the immune cells that contribute to inflammation in SLE.
The new clinical study will test ginger versus a placebo in people with SLE and measure changes in immune cell activity and inflammation-related markers. It will also assess whether ginger supplementation is safe and feasible for larger studies aimed at determining its potential clinical benefits.
Another project, led by Jose Rubio, MD, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will investigate whether a personalized, home-based exercise program can improve muscle health and reduce fatigue in people with SLE.
The study will examine whether exercise can improve the function of mitochondria, which are the energy-producing structures inside cells, and reduce fat accumulation in muscles. Mitochondrial dysfunction and excess muscle fat are implicated in inflammation, impaired muscle function, and fatigue.
Over 16 weeks, or about four months, participants will complete a high-intensity exercise program at home three times per week. Each session will last approximately 40 minutes and be supervised remotely by video. The researchers will assess changes in muscle fat, blood markers, physical function, and patient-reported symptoms before and after the program.
The goal is to inform new ways to reduce fatigue, which can be extreme for some people with lupus.
At the Lupus Research Alliance, we are committed to pursuing every promising avenue that could improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for those living with this disease.
A third project, led by Jennifer Rogers, MD, a professor at Duke University in North Carolina, will investigate how the Whole Health Empowerment for Lupus (WHEEL) lifestyle-based program may help reduce pain and improve quality of life in people with SLE.
The 12-week online program combines stress management, mindfulness, social support, education, and self-management strategies. The researchers will examine whether the program changes how the brain processes pain, particularly the activity of brain systems involved in threat, stress, reward, and motivation.
An estimated 20 adults who continue to experience pain despite standard treatment will participate in the program. Before and after the intervention, participants will undergo functional MRI scans, fill out questionnaires about pain, emotions, and quality of life, and have their lupus disease activity assessed. The researchers hope these measures will help identify the brain mechanisms driving chronic pain in SLE, which may help guide new approaches to improving pain management.
“At the Lupus Research Alliance, we are committed to pursuing every promising avenue that could improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for those living with this disease,” Fischer said.
The Mechanistic Clinical Award program was created to support pilot studies. This year, the focus is on lifestyle interventions.
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