(HealthDay)—The intravenous drug Benlysta (belimumab) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat children with lupus, a chronic disease that triggers inflammation and damages tissues and organs throughout the body. Approved for adults since 2011, Benlysta is the first lupus treatment in the United States approved for children, the agency said in a news release. “While there is no cure for lupus, treatment can help our youngest...
Tag: <span>Lupus</span>
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Restoring this enzyme’s function protects against heart disease in lupus and beyond
The enzyme that produces nitric oxide shows promise as a new therapeutic target for heart disease in lupus, report Medical University of South Carolina researchers in Lupus Science & Medicine; it could also be relevant to heart disease more broadly MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA Patients with lupus, an inflammatory disease in which the body’s immune system...
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Reducing B cells with CAR T cells is effective treatment of experimental lupus
CD-19-targeting CAR-T cells restored proper skin structure and reduced inflammation in mouse models of lupus (bottom). Credit: R. Kansal et al., Science Translational Medicine (2019) Depleting the number of harmful B cells with a novel immunotherapy that employs modified T cells may offer an effective strategy to treat lupus, according to a new study funded...
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Study shows volunteering benefits those with lupus
Free telephone counseling service for people with lupus helps volunteers as well as callers HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY IMAGE: VOLUNTEERS ON THE HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY’S LUPUSLINE®/CHARLA DE LUPUS (LUPUS CHAT)® COUNSEL CALLERS WITH LUPUS. CREDIT: HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY Conventional wisdom has it that volunteering is good for you, and a study at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) shows that to be true for people with lupus volunteering in a...
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Clues to lupus’s autoimmune origins in precursor cells
DN2 B cells expanded in SLE patients EMORY HEALTH SCIENCES In the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE, the immune system produces antibodies against parts of the body itself. How cells that produce those antibodies escape the normal “checks and balances” has been unclear, but recent research from Emory University School of Medicine sheds light...
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Lupus discovery could help manage disease in African patients
Two variants of an autoimmune disease that affects thousands but is hard to diagnose are relatively common among black Africans, research shows. The findings, relating to systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, could improve the diagnosis and treatment of the condition. They could enable better management of the disease in patients of African descent, particularly in...
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What is the link between lupus and arthritis?
Lupus and arthritis are different conditions, but lupus often causes people to develop arthritis or joint pain. The causes and treatments for lupus and arthritis are different, so people should be aware of the differences between the two conditions. There may be a genetic link between lupus and arthritis, though there are also significant genetic...
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Sirtuin-1 levels linked to lupus
The Cardiometabolic and Kidney Risk ResearchGroup, in collaboration with the Genomic and Genetic Diagnosis Unit of the Health Research Institute of Valencia’s Hospital Clínico, INCLIVA, the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Valencia University and the Hospital Clínico’s Internal Medicine Department, have proven that the levels of messenger RNA and proteins of the enzyme Sirtuin-1 in urine...
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Study points to potential personalized approach to treating lupus
In individuals with lupus, immune cells attack the body’s own tissue and organs as if they are enemy invaders. A new Yale-led study describes how a protein found in common bacteria triggers that auto-immune response. The finding opens the door to future therapies targeting the bacteria rather than the immune system, the researchers said. To...
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Novel small molecule drug may help to ease symptoms in lupus sufferers
Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, has proved difficult to treat, but a new international study co-led by a Rush University Medical Center researcher suggests that a drug starting through the pipeline could ameliorate or even eliminate the symptoms in most sufferers. The study, published March 6 in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Investigation, showed that certain...