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Testing For Urinary Proteins Might Help Diagnose Kidney Damage From Lupus

Simple urine tests for four proteins might be able to detect early kidney disease in people with lupus, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in an animal study.

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National Lupus Alliance of America Survey

38 questions, less than 30 minutes of your time, over 1.5 million Americans helped. Let Your Voice be Heard!

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The Lupus Drug Gold Mine

Lupus has puzzled doctors since it was identified in the 1800s. For unknown reasons, the body makes antibodies against itself. Symptoms--ranging from fever to rashes to joint pain to kidney damage--come and go unpredictably. The average lupus patient waits four years and sees three doctors before getting an accurate diagnosis. There have been no new drugs in 50 years.

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New Therapeutic Approach Identified For Kidney Disease Associated With Lupus

Investigators have identified a new disease mechanism and therapeutic approach for a type of advanced kidney disease that is a common cause of complications in patients with lupus.

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Benlysta™ trial results in an historic research breakthrough and victory for people with lupus

Second successful phase III trial points to the first new lupus treatment in over 50 years. As a member of the Lupus National Coalition, we are thrilled to make this announcement and to be a part of this history making drug!

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More Good News for Lupus at the American College of Rheumatology Meeting

Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline Report Details of First Positive Phase 3 Clinical Trial for Lupus

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Cellular Mechanism That Causes Lupuslike Symptoms In Mice Identified By Stanford Study

Macrophages, the scavenger cells of the body's immune system, are responsible for disposing of dying cells. Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have identified one pathway in this important process in mice that, if disrupted, causes a lupuslike autoimmune disease.

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Lupus Patients Perceive Benefit From Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Counseling Program

According to a new study by Hospital for Special Surgery investigators presented at the American College of Rheumatology meeting on October 21 in Philadelphia, most lupus patients are not aware that their condition puts them at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and a counseling program is a valuable way to promote education and lifestyle change.

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Antibody Puts Young Women at Risk of Stroke, MI

Women with the lupus anticoagulant -- an antiphospholipid antibody -- had five times the risk of heart attack of other women, and a 40-fold greater risk of stroke, researchers said.

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Urinary TWEAK as a biomarker of lupus nephritis: a multicenter cohort study

IntroductionTumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) has been implicated as a mediator of chronic inflammatory processes via prolonged activation of the NF-kB pathway in several tissues, including the kidney. Evidence for the importance of TWEAK in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis (LN) has been recently introduced.

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Lupus Research Institute National Coalition, including the Lupus Alliance of LIQ Goes to Washington

At this pivotal time in our nation’s health care debate, the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) National Coalition held an advocacy day at the U.S. Capitol to raise awareness among members of Congress of the health care needs of those suffering from lupus.

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Lupus Worse in Blacks, Hispanics Than in Whites, Study Finds

FRIDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Blacks and Hispanics appear more likely than whites to develop the most common form of the autoimmune disease lupus and to develop more severe complications from it, new research shows.

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Lupus in the News

No, that's not a typo: There actually has been a flurry of news surrounding lupus lately.

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Uncovering the Mysteries of Immunity, and of Lupus

Scientists are seeking to uncover why the immune system attacks healthy cells in lupus. Antinuclear antibodies, like those shown here in lupus-prone mice, are a hallmark of the disease.

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Gene Linked To Lupus Might Explain Gender Difference In Disease Risk

In an international human genetic study, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center suffer with identified a gene linked to the autoimmune disease lupus, and its location on the X chromosome power help simplify why females are 10 times more susceptible to the plague than males.

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OMRF Receives $22 Mil. in Grants

The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation gets 2 important grants to help fight disease.

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Immune Responses To Flu Vaccine Are Diminished In Lupus Patients

Patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of infection, due to both disturbances in their immune responses and treatment with immunosuppressive drugs.

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Vitamin D tests may reveal risk for Lupus

Lupus, the autoimmune disorder which recently received a media spotlight in the wake of Michael Jackson's death, may be catalyzed by low levels of vitamin D in people susceptible to the disease, according to new research.

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On-Going Congressional Support for National Lupus Health Education Program

THe U.S. House of Representatives approved its Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Bill for health programs and included $1 million for a second year of funding to continue the National Lupus health education program for physicians and healthcare providers.

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Benlysta Effective in Some Lupus Sufferers

GlaxoSmithKline and Human Genome Sciences limited the drug's Phase 3 trial to patients testing positive for the protein that Benlysta blocks, greatly boosting trial results

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National Institutes of Health Guidelines on

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is hereby publishing final "National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research" (Guidelines).

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Human Genome Seeks To Surprise Doubters With Lupus-Drug Data

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) is hoping to surprise an army of doubters on Monday when it discloses late-stage clinical data on the experimental drug Benlysta in treating lupus, a notoriously hard-to-treat autoimmune disease that hasn't seen a new therapy in decades.

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HGS Hoping to Survive Final Test of Lupus Drug

In the high-stakes, high-risk, high-failure business of developing drugs, there are two events that test an executive's intestinal fortitude.

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Scripps research scientists find key culprits in lupus

LA JOLLA, CA, June 29, 2009 The more than 1.5 million Americans with systemic lupus erythematosus (or lupus) suffer from a variety of symptoms that flare and subside, often including painful or swollen joints, extreme fatigue, skin rashes, fever, and kidney problems. Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have now identified the main trigger for the development of this disease.

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New Lupus Drug Showed Positive Results In Trial Said Manufacturer

A phase 2 trial of the drug belimumab in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) showed positive results, according to the drug company.

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Development Of DNA Drugs Gives Hope To Lupus Patients

A generation of DNA-like compounds, class R inhibitory oligonucleotides (INH-ODNs), have been shown to effectively inhibit cells responsible for the chronic autoimmune condition lupus.

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Alternative Therapy For Lupus Nephritis

Lupus is a serious disease that mainly affects women of child-bearing age and occurs when the body's immune system goes awry, damaging a variety of organs.

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Association Between Oral Contraceptives And Increased Risk Of Lupus

The ratio of women to men with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is nine to one and the incidence increases after puberty.

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Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Initiation of Phase 1 Study of SBI-087 for the Treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)

SEATTLE, March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRBN) announced today that its collaboration partner Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of SBI-087, Trubion's next generation CD20 drug candidate, for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Based on Trubion's Small Modular ImmunoPharmaceutical (SMIP(TM)) technology, SBI-087 is also being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Continue reading "Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Initiation of Phase 1 Study of SBI-087 for the Treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)" »


Researchers Validate Link between Lupus and Immune Response Gene

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have confirmed a link between the IRAK1 gene and the autoimmune disease lupus. Since it is located on the X chromosome, the team suggests that it helps explain why females are 10 times more susceptible to the disease than males.

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Rituximab Reduces Kidney Inflammation In Patients With Lupus

Treatment with the targeted drug rituximab can significantly benefit some patients with severe lupus nephritis who do not respond to conventional therapy, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

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Results Of First Interim Efficacy Analysis For Riquent Phase 3 ASPEN Trial: Continuation Of The Trial Is Futile

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) announced that in the first interim efficacy analysis (IEA) for the Riquent(R) Phase 3 ASPEN trial, the Independent Data Monitoring Board (DMB) determined that the continuation of the trial is futile. BioMarin and partner La Jolla Pharmaceutical have decided to stop the study, unblind the data and evaluate all of the clinical results including secondary endpoints such as SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) disease activity indices and proteinuria.

Continue reading "Results Of First Interim Efficacy Analysis For Riquent Phase 3 ASPEN Trial: Continuation Of The Trial Is Futile" »


Clinically Meaningful Reduction in Disease Activity Reported with Epratuzumab

San Francisco, October 27, 2008 – Encouraging initial findings from the combined results of two early clinical trials of the drug epratuzumab for lupus were announced by UCB Pharma at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in San Francisco this week.

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Self-attacking Immune Cells Turned Off in Healthy People; Turned On in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus are autoimmune diseases -- conditions associated with self-attacking immune cells. According to a report in the December 22, 2008 edition of Journal of Experimental Medicine, healthy people also have the cells but they are kept in an "off state". Why are the cells kept off in some people and turned on in others?

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Lupus affects the brain very early in the disease

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Results of a brain imaging study suggest that the brain may be affected very early in the course of lupus, even before the disease is diagnosed.

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Blocked Protein Prevents Lupus In Mouse Model

Mice from a strain that ordinarily develops systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but bred with a deficiency in receptor for the protein Interleukin 21, stayed healthy and exhibited none of the symptoms of the disease, researchers at The Jackson Laboratory and National Institutes of Health report.

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How Antibodies Block The S1P Receptor On T Cells Has Potential To Stop Autoimmune Diseases And Transplant Rejection

After several years of battling recurring infections, the last thing a patient and her doctors ever expected was that the cause of her problems might actually help millions live longer, more active lives.

Continue reading "How Antibodies Block The S1P Receptor On T Cells Has Potential To Stop Autoimmune Diseases And Transplant Rejection" »


How Women With Lupus Can Increase Chance For Healthy Pregnancies

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.

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Study Results Show Epratuzumab Provided Clinically Meaningful Reduced Disease Activity In Patients With Lupus

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).

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The Merinoff Symposia To Highlight New Research In Systemic Lupus

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.

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Human Genome Sciences Completes Enrollment In Second Phase 3 Lymphostat-B(R) Trial

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).

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Newly Discovered Gene Variant Implicated In Lupus - Cutting The Brakes On The Immune System

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.

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B Cells Can Act Alone In Autoimmune Disease, Yale Researchers Report

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.

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Epratuzumab Reduced Disease Activity And Steroid Use In Patients With Moderate And Severe Flaring SLE

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.

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Ovarian Function Preserved In Women With Severe Systemic Lupus Erythematosus When Treated With Cyclophosphamide And Mycophenolate Mofetil

Ovarian function can be preserved and disease activity controlled in women with severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) when treated with a 6- month course of cyclophosphamide (CYC), a chemotherapy drug, followed by the immunosuppressant mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), according to a new study presented at EULAR 2008, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Paris, France.

Continue reading "Ovarian Function Preserved In Women With Severe Systemic Lupus Erythematosus When Treated With Cyclophosphamide And Mycophenolate Mofetil" »


Human Genome Sciences Reports Positive Long-Term Data For LymphoStat-B In Patients With Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI) announced the presentation of results from a long- term Phase 2 continuation trial showing that LymphoStat-B(R) (belimumab) was associated with sustained improvement in disease activity across multiple clinical measures, decreased frequency of disease flares, potential steroid- sparing activity, and was generally well tolerated through three years on treatment in combination with standard of care in patients with serologically active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The results are the subject of a number of oral and poster presentations in Paris at the 2008 Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR).

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Lupus May Be Caused By Abnormal 'Editing' Of Gene Messages

Researchers at Wake Forest University have uncovered evidence that the abnormal "editing" of gene messages in a type of white blood cell may be behind the development of lupus. Scientists hope the finding will lead to earlier diagnosis, a way to monitor patients' response to therapy and possibly a new way to treat the disease.

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Two Groundbreaking Scientists Share America's Largest Medicine Prize

America's largest prize for work in medicine, amounting to half a million dollars, is shared this year by two scientists, Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco and Joan Streitz of Yale University, for their groundbreaking work in molecular research that opens up development of new and effective treatments for a range of diseases.

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Genentech And Biogen Idec Announce Top-Line Results From Phase II/III Clinical Study Of Rituxan In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Genentech, Inc. (NYSE:DNA) and Biogen Idec, Inc. (Nasdaq:BIIB) that a Phase II/III study of Rituxan® (rituximab) for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, commonly called lupus) did not meet its primary endpoint defined as the proportion of Rituxan treated patients who achieved a major clinical response (MCR) or partial clinical response (PCR) measured by BILAG, a lupus activity response index, compared to placebo at 52 weeks.

Continue reading "Genentech And Biogen Idec Announce Top-Line Results From Phase II/III Clinical Study Of Rituxan In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus" »


Better Treatment For Autoimmune Diseases Could Result From Sugar Linkage

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire Glycomics Center have helped identify a specific carbohydrate structure that confers anti-inflammatory activity to a glycoprotein antibody that could lead to improved treatment of autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

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Rituxan Results, Although Disappointing, Can Help Create Better Drugs and Build Better Trials for Lupus

Learnings from landmark study across multiple organ systems will inform progress in this complex autoimmune disease

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GENENTECH AND BIOGEN IDEC ANNOUNCE TOP-LINE RESULTS FROM PHASE II/III CLINICAL STUDY OF RITUXAN IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – April 29, 2008 – Genentech, Inc. (NYSE: DNA) and Biogen Idec, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) announced today that a Phase II/III study of Rituxan® (rituximab) for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, commonly called lupus) did not meet its primary endpoint defined as the proportion of Rituxan treated patients who achieved a major clinical response (MCR) or partial clinical response (PCR) measured by BILAG, a lupus activity response index, compared to placebo at 52 weeks. The study also did not meet any of the six secondary endpoints. Genentech and Biogen Idec will continue to analyze the study results and will submit the data for presentation at an upcoming medical meeting.

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Profound Immune System Discovery Opens Door to Halting Destruction of Lupus

(New York, NY) December, 2007 – A researcher funded by the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) has discovered an entirely new and powerful molecular switch that controls the inflammatory response of the immune system. The major finding, reported in the December 14th issue of the journal Cell, means that new methods can now be pursued to shut down uncontrolled inflammation, restore immune system regulation, and treat chronic autoimmune disorders such as lupus.

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Lupus Research Institute Launches Novel Studies in Human Lupus

The Lupus Research Institute (LRI) invites scientists with innovative ideas about what goes wrong in human lupus and ways to fix it to apply for grant funding to mount novel investigations in Human Lupus Biology.

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Cell Signaling Glitch Contributes To Lupus Progression

Immune cells that would normally die in healthy people accumulate in bodies of patients who have lupus and contribute to the disease, according to new Saint Louis University research published in the Feb. 15 issue of Immunity.

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Heart Disease Is A Major Complication Of Lupus - February Is National Heart Month

Heart disease is a major complication of lupus and is now a leading cause of death among people living with autoimmune disease.

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La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company Reports Progress In International Phase 3 Riquent(R) Study

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (Nasdaq:LJPC) announced significant progress in its ongoing double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized Phase 3 trial of Riquent(R) (abetimus sodium), its drug candidate for systemic lupus erythematosus ("lupus" or "SLE"), including additional safety data on the trial's higher doses.

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DNA Variations Signal Lupus Risk

Scientists have pinpointed a set of common variations in human DNA that signal a higher risk for lupus in women who carry them. Some of these variations are more common in relatives of lupus patients, which may help future studies examining whether lupus is more prevalent among certain racial and ethnic groups, according to a new study.

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Genetic Link To Lupus, NHS Response

Scientists have identified six or more "rogue genes" behind the disease lupus, reports the Daily Mail. Lupus affects nearly 50,000 women in Britain and it is a complex disease which "occurs when the immune system turns on the body", the newspaper said.

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Drugs Used To Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis May Have Hidden Benefits

Powerful drugs used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a profound, previously unrecognized effect on the immune system, breaking up molecular "training camps" for rogue cells that play an increasingly recognized role in autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

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Discovery Of New Genetic Mutation That Halts The Development Of Lupus

The new study was published in the January 18 edition (Volume 28, Issue 1) of the journal Immunity.

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Genes Linked To Lupus Identified By International Consortium

A landmark genetic study has identified multiple genes linked to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or lupus, a debilitating autoimmune disease that affects an estimated 1.4 million Americans.

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Profound Immune System Discovery Opens Door to Halting Destruction of Lupus

Lupus Research Institute Funds Innovative Hypothesis and Scientific Breakthrough

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National Funding For Lupus Research Institute

The Lupus Research Institute (LRI) strategy of backing innovative investigations into systemic lupus, the autoimmune disease, has now yielded an unprecedented $30 million in large-scale funding from the National Institutes of Health and other government and private sources, an independent progress report has determined.

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Mycophenolate Mofetil Reduces Lupus Flares and Cuts Prednisone Use: Presented at ACR

BOSTON, MA -- November 13, 2007 -- Not only does mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) treatment significantly reduce the total number of flares in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but it also reduces the daily use of prednisone dose by these patients.

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Researchers Investigate Ways To Detect Lupus Associated Kidney Disease

High urinary levels of certain molecules might have the potential to serve as biomarkers for a potentially life shortening kidney ailment caused by the autoimmune disease lupus, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

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Human Genome Sciences Reports Positive Data From Long Term Treatment With LymphoStat-B(R) In Patients With Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI) announced the presentation of Phase 2 clinical results demonstrating that LymphoStat-B(R) (belimumab) achieved a sustained improvement in disease activity across multiple clinical measures, decreased the frequency of disease flares over time, and was well tolerated through 2.5 years on treatment in combination with standard of care in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Continue reading "Human Genome Sciences Reports Positive Data From Long Term Treatment With LymphoStat-B(R) In Patients With Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus" »


Therapy Effective For Reducing Lupus Flares

Mayo Clinic researchers have shown that an immunosuppressive drug used in organ transplant cases is effective in reducing flare-ups in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

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New Round of Lupus Research Institute Awards Brings Promise of More Breakthroughs

12 Grants Enable Testing of Innovative Hypotheses

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BREAKING NEWS: FDA Heightens Warning About Miscarriage, Birth Defects With Drug Used Off-Label for Lupus Nephritis

October 31, 2007

ROCKVILLE, Maryland, and NUTLEY, New Jersey—The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Roche Laboratories, Inc, today issued a warning that mycophenolate mofetil (MMF, CellCept®, Roche) has been positively linked to first-trimester miscarriages and birth defects in the children of women who have taken it.1

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Lupus Research Institute Opens New Directions in Autoimmune Disease Research

Early Immune System Error Challenges Basic B-Cell Biology in Lupus

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Lupus Research Institute Triggers Cascade of New Links—and Possible Solutions—to Early Heart Disease in People with Lupus

The Lupus Research Institute (LRI), the only organization singularly devoted to innovative science in lupus, reports that misbehavior among the cells that form the linings of blood vessels (called endothelial cells) in people with lupus puts them at dramatically increased risk for early heart disease and stroke.

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Clinical Trials For Lupus Underway After Decades Of Drought

For the first time in decades, a significant number of clinical trials are being conducted to seek a treatment, perhaps even a cure, for lupus, a chronic and potentially fatal autoimmune disease that affects more than 1.5 million Americans -- 10,000 in Los Angeles County alone.

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Dept. Of Defense Support For Lupus Research Provides 5 Million Dollars In New Funding

The Department of Defense (DoD) Congressionally Directed Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) has awarded $5 million in new funding to support important research studies on lupus and lupus biomarkers.

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News From The American Chemical Society

Vaccine-like treatment shows promise for fighting lupus

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Wanted: Lupus Patients for Clinical Trials

NEW YORK, NY—The lupus therapeutic landscape is changing slowly but dramatically because of the advent of molecular tools (such as the sequencing of the human genome) and the development of targeted treatments.

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Hormone Therapy Does Not Worsen Lupus But May Increase Thrombosis Risk

TLALPAN, Mexico—Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at increased risk for premature menopause, with its attendant risks of osteoporotic fracture, however, hormone therapy (HT) is a possible treatment.

Continue reading "Hormone Therapy Does Not Worsen Lupus But May Increase Thrombosis Risk" »


New Risk Gene For Rheumatoid Arthritis And Lupus Opens Door To More Effective Treatments

Scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have identified a critical gene that increases a person's risk for rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, and may be involved with other autoimmune diseases.

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Pulse IVMP Treatment May Decline With the Advent of New Lupus Therapies

MANCHESTER, England— Clinicians rely on intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) for cooling acute flares of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but newer emerging treatments are expected to challenge IVMP both for treatment of acute flares and in longer-term maintenance treatment of lupus nephritis and nonrenal lupus manifestations.

Continue reading "Pulse IVMP Treatment May Decline With the Advent of New Lupus Therapies" »


Lupus Patients May Benefit From Organ-Transplant Rejection Drug

A compound related to a drug used in humans to prevent organ-transplant rejection attacks a key biochemical process in the faulty immune cells of lupus-prone mice, suggesting a possible new approach to combating the disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

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Malaria drugs cut cancer risk in lupus patients

Drugs used to treat malaria appear to reduce the risk of malignancy in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, Spanish researchers report in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

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Sperm Abnormalities Seen In Male Lupus Patients

Science Daily — The prognosis for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease that mainly affects women in their reproductive years, has improved recently, prompting a shift toward improving quality of life. For men with SLE, concerns have been raised about their future fertility.

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Can B-Cell Depletion With Rituximab Trigger Psoriasis?

LEEDS, UK—Three patients who developed new-onset psoriasis after rituximab (Rituxan®) treatment have raised a troubling new concern about the growing use of this B-cell depleting therapy in a widening group of rheumatic diseases. The cases are reported in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.1

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Hydroxychloroquine May Stave Off Lupus Onset

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma—Catching lupus early and treating it with hydroxychloroquine may delay or prevent the onset of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in certain high risk individuals, according to provocative new findings in the journal Lupus.1

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New Research May Predict Who Is At Risk To Develop Lupus

Certain families produce higher levels of a specific molecule, called interferon-alpha, that primes the body's immune system to turn on, and in some cases initiate an autoimmune attack on itself, according to new research from Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

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Lupus And Genetic Mutations Linked By Research

A gene discovered by scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine has been linked to lupus and related autoimmune diseases.

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Despite different triggers of disease, all roads lead to lupus

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MedImmune Advances Potential Treatment For Patients With Lupus

MedImmune, Inc. today announced that it has begun dosing patients in a multi-dose, Phase 1b clinical trial with its monoclonal antibody (MAb) targeting interferon-alpha, known as MEDI-545.

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BioPharm Business News: Aspreva, Roche Report Preliminary Results for Phase III Study of CellCept in Lupus Nephritis; Fail to Achieve Primary Objective of Superiority to Intravenous Cyclophosphamide

Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corp (VICTORIA, British Columbia), an emerging pharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing, and commercializing new indications for approved drugs and late-stage drug candidates for patients with less common diseases, and Roche (BASEL, Switzerland) released preliminary results from a phase III clinical trial comparing CellCept (oral mycophenolate mofetil, MMF) with intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVC), the current standard of care in patients suffering from lupus nephritis.

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BioPharm Business News: Pfizer's Lyrica® Receives FDA Approval for Fibromyalgia in Adults

Pfizer Inc (NEW YORK, NY) announced that the US FDA approved Lyrica® (pregabalin) capsules CV for the management of fibromyalgia, one of the most common chronic, widespread pain conditions in the US. Lyrica, which received a priority review, is the first FDA-approved medicine for the condition in adults.

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Treatment With Belimumab Showed Improvement In Symptoms In 46 Percent Of Lupus Patients At 52 Weeks

Treatment with belimumab resulted in a sustained improvement of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) disease activity in 46% of patients at week 52, according to a novel combined responder index in results presented at EULAR 2007, the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona, Spain.

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Over 1/3 Of Refractory Lupus Patients Remain Stable At Long Term Follow-up After Receiving B-Cell Depletion Therapy

Findings reported today at EULAR 2007, the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) in Barcelona, Spain, reveal a treatment disparity between female and male patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

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The Future Directions of Lupus Research

Thanks to The Lupus Alliance of LI/Q and other lupus agencies from around the Nation the NIH has posted the "Future Directions of Lupus Research" on their website for public comment.

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For the first time in over 40 years, new medications are being designed and tested for lupus!

For the first time in over 40 years, new medications are being designed and tested for lupus, prompting The Lupus Alliance of LI/Q to urge everyone who has lupus to get involved and be part of the cure!

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NIAMS releases "The Future Directions of Lupus" report.

Due to the recent congressional lobbying by the Lupus Alliance of LI/Q, the National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) has posted “The Future Directions of Lupus” on their website for public comment.

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Scientists Spot Key Autoimmune Disease Genes

MONDAY, Jan. 22 (HealthDay News) -- The identification by U.S. scientists of genes thought to be key to autoimmune disorders could be a big step toward new treatments for these illnesses, which include lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes.

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Lupus Meeting News: Environment Interaction Seen As Next Step in Lupus Genetics

SHANGHAI, China—Family genetic linkage studies, candidate gene analysis, and whole genome scans have helped researchers identify several gene polymorphisms associated with a high risk for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

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Lupus Meeting News: Not Just Dust: Microparticles Suspected of Role in Lupus

SHANGHAI, China—Microparticles are elevated in the blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and may act as important mediators of autoimmunity and inflammation, Steffen Gay, MD, will report at this week’s 8th International Congress on SLE.1

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Department Of Defense Provides Another 2 Million Dollars For Lupus Research, USA

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Congressionally-Directed Medical Research Program has awarded more than 2 million dollars in additional grants for research on lupus and lupus biomarkers.

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Human Genome Sciences And GlaxoSmithKline Initiate Second Phase 3 Clinical Trial Of LymphoStat-B(R) In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI) today announced that dosing has begun in BLISS-52, the second of two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials of LymphoStat-B(R) (belimumab) in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

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Surge in LRI Biomarker Research Signals New Hope for Diagnosing and Managing Lupus

In its commitment to staying open to powerful new ideas in lupus research, the Lupus Research Institute has reaped a remarkable reward for the more than 1.5 million Americans and millions more worldwide with this devastating disease--a panel of candidate biomarkers that may have the potential to change the way that lupus affects their lives.

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Small Study of Epratuzumab Shows Promise in Mild to Moderate Lupus

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BLyS Isotope May Serve as Lupus Biomarker

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Blocking CD134 Stimulator May Be Effective Way to Prevent Lupus Nephritis

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Diabetes Drugs Might Help Prevent Heart Disease in Lupus

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provisional criteria for the evaluation of response to therapy in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus

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TLR7 Gene May Play Role in Higher Female Prevalence in Lupus

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Research News: Two Proteins Found to Have Unexpected Effects on Lupus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) is a chronic, inflammatory systemic disease where the skin, joints, heart, blood elements, lungs, kidneys and/or brain may be affected. Lupus is also an autoimmune disease, which means the body’s immune system mistakenly produces antibodies to components of its own cells.

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Lupus Escalates Heart Disease Risk in Women

Lupus Research Institute Uncovers Key Diagnosis and Treatment Strategies

February 17, 2006 - Many women will take February’s American Heart Month in stride, having finally absorbed the message that heart disease is the gender’s number one killer. Scores will make key lifestyle changes to keep their heart as healthy as it can be.

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