An estimated 1.5 million Americans and at least five million people worldwide are living with some form of lupus, an unpredictable and potentially fatal autoimmune disease. While medications are important to managing lupus, there also are a number of lifestyle adjustments people with lupus can make to help keep the physical symptoms of the disease under control. Diet and weight management are important tools.
Women with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have a more than two-fold increased risk of cardiovascular disease over women without the disease according to research funded in part by the Arthritis Foundation. The research was presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco.
Teen girls are often naturally self-conscious about their looks. Imagine being a 12-year-old girl out on a school field trip and suddenly having welts and rashes appear on your arms. This is how Nicole Paxson eventually learned that she had lupus, an unpredictable and potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease that affects mostly young women.
UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB) announced data from two randomized controlled trials showing that treatment with epratuzumab a humanized anti-CD22 antibody, resulted in clinically meaningful reduced disease activity, improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measurements and reduced reliance on corticosteroids compared to placebo treatment in patients with active moderate and severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
In the not so distant past, women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease, were advised not to have children, and if they became pregnant, to have therapeutic abortions to prevent severe flares of their lupus. Research by rheumatologists at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, in patients with lupus who have had successful pregnancies is yielding insights that support a reversal of that thinking.
The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) has awarded more than $1.1 million in new research grants and fellowships as part of its ongoing commitment to bringing down the barriers in developing new treatments and finding a cure for lupus. Lupus is a disabling and life-threatening autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1.5 million Americans -- that's enough people to fill 30 baseball stadiums.
Betty Diamond, M.D., Head of the Autoimmune Disease Center at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and Professor of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is the 2008 recipient of the prestigious Evelyn V. Hess Research Award, given annually by the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. (LFA). The recipient is selected through a peer review process, and recognizes a lifetime of achievement in lupus research. Dr.
Because 90 percent of the estimated 1.5 million Americans living with the autoimmune disease lupus are female, fertility, pregnancy and reproductive health are important issues of concern. Women with lupus no longer are told not to have children. However, they are advised to take steps to plan before conception so physicians can monitor these high-risk pregnancies at every step.
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is hosting a three-day meeting for scientists interested in learning about the latest scientific studies underway in understanding and treating Systemic Lupus. Feinstein scientists are known worldwide for their contributions to the field of immunology, and in particular lupus and other autoimmune diseases, and have organized a novel meeting to share the science with immunologists on the front lines of taking care of patients.
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI) announced it has completed enrollment and initial dosing in BLISS-76, the second of two pivotal Phase 3 randomized clinical trials of LymphoStat-B® (belimumab) in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Belimumab is being developed by HGS and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) under a co-development and commercialization agreement entered into in August 2006.
The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) has announced the launch of the Center for Clinical Trials Education (CCTE), a resource for people interested in learning about and joining lupus clinical trials. The initial programs of the CCTE include a Website (www.lupus.
The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) has announced the launch of the Center for Clinical Trials Education (CCTE), a resource for people interested in learning about and joining lupus clinical trials. The initial programs of the CCTE include a Website and a series of grassroots community education programs on clinical research offered through the LFA's network of 38 chapters around the country.
Karen Evans of Baltimore, Maryland was elected Chair of the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. (LFA) Board of Directors during the Foundation's recent Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Ms. Evans will lead the LFA Board's strategic initiatives to bring national attention and increased public and private resources to fight lupus, an unpredictable and potentially fatal autoimmune disease. Ms.
MedImmune announced that it has initiated enrollment in a Phase 2A trial with an investigational human monoclonal antibody (MAb) targeting interferon-alpha in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus). The study is designed to assess the safety and tolerability of the antibody, also known as MEDI-545 in patients with moderately to severely active lupus, despite standard of care.
Medarex, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDX) announced that its partner MedImmune, Inc. has initiated a Phase 2A multi-dose clinical trial of MEDI-545 for the potential treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus). MEDI-545 is a fully human antibody generated by Medarex's UltiMAb Human Antibody Development System(R). Under the terms of the agreement, Medarex will receive a milestone payment of an undisclosed amount.
For the first time in the United States, more than 200 scientists from around the world will gather to explore research challenging conventional theories about immunology, inflammation and their link to acute and chronic diseases. The Damage Associated Molecular Pattern Molecules (DAMPs) and Alarmins Symposium will be held at the Hillman Cancer Center, 5115 Centre Ave., Pittsburgh, Aug. 30 through Sept. 2.
B cells, the source of damaging autoantibodies, have long been thought to depend upon T cells for their activation and were not considered important in the initiation of autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. In the Aug. 7 online issue of the journal of Immunity, Yale University researchers turn this paradigm on its head by showing that in systemic autoimmune diseases B cells can be activated the absence of T cells.
Your immune system may have more in common with a Corvette than you thought. When a virus or bacteria enters a human body, the immune system revs up to fight and expel the invader. Once the invader is gone, the body puts on the brakes to stop the immune response. But a new study by Patrick Gaffney, M.D., and Kathy Moser, Ph.D.
Seattle Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:SGEN) announced that it has initiated a phase I clinical trial of SGN-70, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting CD70 that is being developed as an investigational therapy for autoimmune diseases. The trial will assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of SGN-70 in healthy volunteers.
Yale University researchers have discovered a new way that autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) can be triggered, they reported Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists have long known the molecule TGF-Beta (transforming growth factor Beta) plays a pivotal role in preventing T cells from launching an attack on the body's own tissues.
An analysis of more than 100 patients has confirmed for the first time that darker-skinned patients benefit as those with lighter skin when given light therapy for morphea and related diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers show. Phototherapy is the use of ultraviolet light to treat skin disorders, ranging from common problems such as acne and psoriasis to rarer conditions such as scleroderma and morphea, a hardening of the skin.
A new treatment using a combination of drugs targeting different parts of the immune system improves the recovery rate for patients with severe lupus involving the kidneys, according to a report in the October Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "In our study, multi-target therapy is shown to be superior to traditional therapy for inducing complete remission of class V+IV lupus nephritis, with few side effects," comments Dr.
UCB has announced that data presented recently show that epratuzumab treatment demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in moderate and severe flaring systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. The data were from the first placebo-controlled studies using epratuzumab in SLE patients and were presented at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR).
The TRAF1/C5 locus on chromosome 9 has been revealed to play a role in multiple autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to new data presented at EULAR 2008, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Paris, France.
