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Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Blog

Related terms: Disseminated Lupus Erythematosus, Lupus, SLE

Blog (27)

No Evidence That Lupus Drugs Lead to Cancer, Says Study

Posted 4 Feb 2013 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Feb. 4 – Drugs used to treat the autoimmune disease lupus do not significantly increase patients' risk of the blood cancer lymphoma, a new study says. The findings should help reduce widely held fears about a link between lupus medication and lymphoma, said the researchers at McGill University in Montreal. In people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the immune system attacks healthy tissue such as the skin, joints, kidneys and the brain. Medications to suppress the immune system are used to treat lupus, but previous research has suggested that this may put patients at increased risk for lymphoma. Because of fears about developing cancer, some lupus patients are reluctant to take their medication, and others stop taking it. This international study included 75 lupus patients who had lymphoma and nearly 5,000 cancer-free lupus patients. Researchers looked at most of the ... Read more

Lupus May Be Linked to Serious Pregnancy Complication

Posted 2 Nov 2012 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Nov. 2 – A new study suggests that pregnant women with the autoimmune disease lupus may have a twofold increased risk of preeclampsia, a dangerous condition characterized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine. Preeclampsia can lead to serious health problems such as seizure, stroke and organ failure and cause the death of the mother and/or baby. The researchers also found that the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) during pregnancy was associated with a statistically insignificant increased risk of preeclampsia. These medications are used to treat lupus and other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, although their use during pregnancy is rare. The slightly higher risk associated with antirheumatic drugs could be explained by the severity of autoimmune disease among users, according to the study, which was published in the November issue ... Read more

Related support groups: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Lupus Erythematosus

Man's Best Friend Points the Way in Genetic Research

Posted 15 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 15 – Dogs may soon become man's best friend on a level that goes far beyond companionship and loyalty. Researchers report that the canine genome, similar in many ways to the human one, is starting to shed light on a wide range of human diseases. What makes dogs particularly interesting to scientists is their breed structure – a type of artificial selection – which creates distinct and diverse lines of animals that range from the muscular German shepherd to the nervous Chihuahua, from the hard-working collie to the perpetually pampered poodle. According to a review article published Aug. 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine, the fact that most purebred dogs have descended from small, closely related parentage with large litters means recessive diseases are common among them. To those interested in genetics, that's exciting. It makes less common recessive diseases ... Read more

Health Tip: Help Avoid a Lupus Flare

Posted 25 Jun 2012 by Drugs.com

-- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health suggests how to help control lupus: Learn to recognize when a flare-up is imminent. Get plenty of rest and try not to push yourself too hard. Try to control stress. Limit exposure to sunlight and halogen or fluorescent lights. Be careful to avoid injury or infection. Don't stop taking lupus medications unless your doctor says so. Exercise moderately, but get your doctor's approval first. Talk to your doctor about any other medications you are taking to see if any could trigger a lupus flare-up. Read more

Related support groups: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Lupus Erythematosus

Strides Made in Diagnosing, Treating Lupus

Posted 10 May 2012 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, May 10 – Sometimes it takes years for people to get diagnosed with lupus. That wasn't the case for Marisa Zeppieri-Caruana, who had so many of the classic systemic lupus erythematosus symptoms – such as a butterfly-shaped rash on her face, a daily fever and achy joints – that her doctor knew right away that the 23-year-old had the illness. Since then, Zeppieri-Caruana, now 34, has been hospitalized 30 times and has had four mini-strokes along with numerous other problems related to her lupus. Most people who have lupus go through periods where they have active disease (flares) and periods where they don't have any symptoms (remission). Unfortunately, Zeppieri-Caruana said she's never had a time where she's been totally in remission. "An average day for me includes fatigue and fever. It's really hard to try to put weight on, and I usually don't feel like doing anything. I ... Read more

New Guidelines Issued for Severe Lupus

Posted 3 May 2012 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, May 3 – When diagnosed with lupus, one in three people already has kidney inflammation, and during the first 10 years with the disease as many as 60 percent of patients will have some kidney problems. Because kidney inflammation (also called lupus nephritis) is so common in people with lupus, the American College of Rheumatology has issued new guidelines for the screening and management of this potentially devastating complication of lupus. "Without treatment, lupus nephritis can lead to end-stage-renal disease, which requires dialysis or a kidney transplant. But, not all types are this serious. It depends on the pattern of damage to the kidneys," said the lead author of the new guidelines, Dr. Bevra Hahn, a professor of medicine and chief of rheumatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Hahn said the course of lupus ... Read more

New Lupus Genes Identified

Posted 4 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, April 4 – Three new genes linked to the chronic autoimmune disease lupus have been identified by an international team of researchers. The analysis of more than 17,000 genetic samples from people of several ethnic groups also pinpointed another 11 genetic regions that may be related to lupus and require further study. The researchers found that the genes IRF8 and TMEM39a are associated with lupus in European-American, African-American, Gullah (a distinctive group of African-Americans in Georgia and South Carolina) and Asian patients. The gene IKZF3 is only significantly associated with lupus in African-Americans and European-Americans. The researchers said their findings, which appear in the April 6 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, show that the genes that cause lupus aren't always universal. The next step is to study the three genes to find out exactly what ... Read more

Related support groups: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Lupus Erythematosus

Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to Fertility Woes, Miscarriage

Posted 16 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Feb. 16 – Women with rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus often have fewer children than they'd hoped for, according to a new study. These autoimmune diseases, which typically develop during women's reproductive years, cause fertility problems and miscarriage, researchers said. Lupus causes the body's immune system to attack healthy tissues and organs. Rheumatoid arthritis leads to painful joint inflammation. For the study, researchers asked 578 women with rheumatoid arthritis and 114 women with lupus about their reproductive health, and divided them into three groups according to how their condition affected their desire and ability to have children. Group A included women who had fewer children than planned. Group B was comprised of women who had number of children they had planned for, and women in Group C were no longer interested in having children due to ... Read more

More Known About Proteins That Cause Autoimmune Diseases

Posted 17 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Jan. 17 – A new study says more than 32 million people in the United States have autoantibodies, which are proteins produced in the immune system that attack the body's tissues. Autoantibodies can cause autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and type 1 diabetes, researchers say. Researchers examined blood serum samples taken from almost 4,800 people who participated in the 1994-2004 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The research team was looking for the most common type of autoantibody, called antinuclear antibodies (ANA). The overall prevalence of antinuclear antibodies was about 14 percent and was slightly higher in blacks than in whites. Frequency generally increased with age and was higher in women than in men, with the female-to-male ratio peaking at 40 to 49 years and then declining with age. "The peak of autoimmunity in females ... Read more

Newer Drug Seems Better at Controlling Lupus Kidney Complication

Posted 16 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 16 – A newer immune-suppressing drug called mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept) is better at controlling a serious kidney complication from lupus than another commonly used therapy, a new study suggests. People taking mycophenolate were about half as likely to progress to treatment failure as were people taking azathioprine (Imuran), according to the researchers. "This study was looking at maintenance therapy for people with lupus nephritis. Was the older drug azathioprine similar or better to the newer drug mycophenolate mofetil [MMF]? We found that MMF was better overwhelmingly," said study author Dr. Mary Anne Dooley, an associate professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "There were fewer flares of recurrent nephritis in the group receiving MMF, and more people on MMF went into complete remission. All of the parameters we looked at were ... Read more

Vitamin D, Interferon Alpha Vaccine Show Promise Against Lupus

Posted 6 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

SATURDAY, Nov. 5 – Two experimental treatments take aim at the destructive immune response believed to cause lupus, according to new research presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting. One study looked at large doses of vitamin D, while the other was a trial of a potential vaccine against an immune system protein called interferon alpha. "This is an incredibly exciting time in lupus research. The academic and pharmaceutical communities are involved in studies that will hopefully lead to more effective and safer treatments," said Dr. Cynthia Aranow, an investigator at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y. She was not involved in the current studies. Of these latest studies, Aranow said that both appeared to have an effect on immune system cells, but neither was designed to assess whether or not there was enough of an effect to make a ... Read more

Related support groups: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Lupus Erythematosus

Pregnancy Safe for Most Women With Lupus: Study

Posted 6 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

SATURDAY, Nov. 5 – Pregnancy is safe for most women with stable lupus, a new study indicates. Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect many organs of the body and cause arthritis, fatigue and rashes. Lupus has been known to cause complications for pregnant women. The disease occurs mostly in women, often emerging in their 20s and 30s when many women want to have children. In this study, researchers identified a few predictors of lupus-related pregnancy complications, but also found that most women with stable lupus had successful pregnancies. The findings were to be presented Nov. 7 at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in Chicago. The study included 333 women with lupus who were followed from their first trimester of pregnancy until three months after they gave birth. On average, the women's lupus was relatively inactive. Poor outcomes occurred in 63 of ... Read more

Related support groups: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Lupus Erythematosus

Black Americans With Lupus Have Better Response to Flu Vaccine

Posted 19 May 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, May 19 – Black Americans with lupus have a higher antibody response to flu vaccination than whites with lupus, a new study says. This may be good news for black Americans with the disease, since patients who had a weak response to the flu vaccine were more likely to experience moderate to severe disease flares following vaccination, compared to patients who had a greater response. As many as 322,000 adults in the United States have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system produces antibodies that attack the body's own tissues and organs. Immunosuppressive therapy and immune system problems make lupus patients more susceptible to infection, according to the researchers. Because of this increased risk, vaccination against common infectious diseases such as the flu are recommended for lupus patients. In this study, U.S. researchers ... Read more

Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis May Raise Risk of Abnormal Heart Rhythm

Posted 6 May 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, May 6 – People with two common inflammatory diseases stand a higher chance of developing a heart condition that is strongly associated with stroke, a new study suggests. The study, done at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, found that patients with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis have a 60 percent increased risk for atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) linked to stroke. Pointing to a recent jump in atrial fibrillation cases, one of the study's authors said it was important to understand all the possible sources of the disease. "We are in the middle of an epidemic of AF (atrial fibrillation)," said Dr. Abhishek Deshmukh, a cardiology fellow at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center in Little Rock and one of the study's authors. "The numbers have gone sky high as people are living longer. AF tends to affect older people ... Read more

Benlysta Approved for Lupus

Posted 10 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, March 10 – Benlysta (belimumab) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat lupus, the first medication sanctioned for the condition in the United States since 1955. The injected drug targets B-lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) protein, which is believed to play a role in abnormal B cells thought to characterize lupus, the agency said in a news release. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, in which the body's disease-fighting system attacks healthy tissue. The condition disproportionally affects women, usually aged 15 to 44. Symptoms commonly include joint pain and swelling, sensitivity to light, fever, chest pain, hair loss and fatigue. In addition to the joints, lupus can affect the skin, kidneys, lungs, heart and brain. As many as 1.5 million people in the United States have the disease, although estimates vary widely, the FDA said. Black women have a three ... Read more

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