RESEARCH UPDATES

Lupus has always been one of those mysterious autoimmune diseases. Difficult to diagnose – with a moving menu of symptoms ranging from mild rashes and joint pain to kidney inflammation, dizziness and heart disease – it has confounded practitioners and bedeviled patients for centuries.  UCSF Professor of Medicine Lindsey Criswell, MD, MPH. who saw her first lupus patients during her medical residency, is one of a new breed of researchers armed with genetic tools, new drugs and a new, optimistic attitude about beating this autoimmune disease – and others like rheumatoid arthritis – back into a corner.   Listen to podcast> 


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New "High Tech" Approach to "Low Tech" Urine Analysis May Provide Way for Doctors to Better Monitor Kidney Involvement of Their Lupus Patients
Rheumatology, Volume 45, Number 12, December 2006, Pages 1497-1504
 
Kidney disease is one of the most serious and difficult complications that can occur from lupus. Now, a "high-tech" approach to a common "low-tech" test -- urine analysis -- may provide a way for doctors to better monitor the degree of kidney involvement in their lupus patients -- and might also open the door to new treatments.  Read more>
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Can Kidney Biopsies Predict Outcomes for Lupus Patients with Kidney Disease?
Arthritis & Rheumatism, Volume 54, Issue 11, October 30, 2006, Pages 3633-3639
 
Early kidney biopsy, conducted as soon as possible after a lupus patient shows signs of kidney complications, is widely regarded as the most-accurate way to assess the level of kidney damage that has occurred. Certain clinical information obtained through a biopsy may also help determine how the disease will progress and whether a patient will respond to treatment with cyclophosphamide. Read more>
 
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Women and Lupus: The Inactive X Awakens
American College of Rheumatology 2006 Annual Meeting, Plenary Session III, November 14, 2006, Presentation 1972
 
Lupus usually affects women: in fact, 90 percent of people diagnosed with lupus are female. Scientists have discovered interesting ways the two X chromosomes in females function that could predispose women to developing lupus. Read more>
 
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Organ Damage in Men with Lupus Appears to Develop Sooner and More Severely
American College of Rheumatology 2006 Annual Meeting, Poster Session A, November 12, 2006, Presentation 557, Poster Board 557
 
Even though nine of ten people who have lupus are female, when lupus occurs in men, organ damage appears to develop sooner in the course of their disease and more severely. This accelerated development of damage early in the course of their disease contributes to poorer long-term prognosis for males. Read more>
 
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Scientists Exploring How the Interplay between UVB Rays and "Programmed Cell Death" May Promote Lupus Disease Activity
Arthritis Research & Therapy, Volume 8, Issue 6, October 2, 2006, R156
 
It is estimated that between 30 and 50 percent of people with lupus are sensitive to sunlight, especially ultraviolet B light (UVB). In these patients, exposure to UVB light can produce significant skin rashes, and in some cases can trigger a flare that involves other organs.
 
One possible explanation for this disease activity is that the cleanup process that removes dead cells in the skin after exposure to UVB might be impaired. UVB rays can induce this process of cell death and removal, which is called "programmed cell death" or apoptosis. Scientists are now exploring how the interplay of UVB rays and apoptosis may promote lupus disease activity. Read more>
 
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LIST Trial Will Investigate Stem Cell Transplants for Lupus
 
A new clinical trial has begun recruiting patients for a study testing the possibility of using stem cell transplants as a treatment for severe lupus. The LIST Study (Lupus Immunosuppressive/Immunomodulatory Therapy or Stem Cell Transplant) will compare two groups of patients with lupus.  Read more>

 
BIOMARKERS
 
Levels of Anti-dsDNA and Complement May Help Predict Flares in People with Lupus
Arthritis & Rheumatism, Volume 54, Issue 11, October 30, 2006, Pages 3623-3632
 
Doctors often test lupus patients for levels of anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibodies and complement, and it has been thought for a long time that when the anti-dsDNA increases and the C3 complement test decreases, then a patient may be about to flare or beginning to flare. However, this belief has been controversial, owing to differences in the methods that have been used by groups that have tried to examine this issue. A new research study suggests that taken together, the anti-dsDNA and complement measurements do have value in predicting the possible onset of flare -- and that timely intervention with steroids may help prevent it.  Read more>
 
DRUG DEVELOPMENT
 
Rituxan® Being Studied as a Possible Treatment for Lupus
American College of Rheumatology 2006 Annual Meeting, Plenary Session III, November 14, 2006, Presentation 1974
 
Rituximab (brand name Rituxan®, manufactured by Genentech) is one of several medications being studied to treat lupus that act by decreasing the number of specialized white blood cells called B cells. After the treatment and over time, new B cells are produced in the bone marrow. How those new B cells develop and whether they seem to be the same as they were before, having autoimmune activity, might determine if and how long the B-cell treatment would help keep the patient symptom-free. Read more>
 
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FDA Allows Resumption of Lupus Trials With Epratuzumab
 
Immunomedics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, announced in November that its partner UCB has received notification from the FDA that clinical trials of epratuzumab, its investigational treatment for lupus, may proceed.  Read more>
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Enrollment Advances in La Jolla Pharmaceutical Phase III International Study on Riquent® for Lupus Kidney Disease
 
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company has announced progress in enrolling patients and opening sites for its Phase III clinical trial of abetimus sodium (brand name Riquent®) for the treatment of lupus kidney disease. The Company has activated 65 international clinical trial sites.  Read more>