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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), also called lupus, is an autoimmune disorder characterized by the immune system attacking the body's own tissues and organs, leading to inflammation and damage. The severity of the disease varies, from mild cases only involving the skin to severe cases affecting multiple organs, including the brain. Lupus sufferers experience flares, or intervals of active disease, and remissions in disease. The disease most predominantly occurs in women of childbearing age, but also affects children, adolescents, and men. While the cause of lupus is still unknown, various genetic, environmental, and infectious causes have been associated with its development. Current treatments for lupus vary depending on the extent of the disease, and may change over time. Some medications used to ease symptoms include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antimalarial drugs, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressive medications, though many of these drugs carry their own risks.
Galapagos, AbbVie announce extension of GLPG0634 clinical development collaboration

Galapagos, AbbVie announce extension of GLPG0634 clinical development collaboration

Galapagos NV and AbbVie announced today an extension of their GLPG0634 clinical development collaboration to include Crohn's disease. Galapagos will fund and complete a Phase 2 program in Crohn's disease, which is designed to facilitate rapid progression into Phase 3. [More]

World Lupus Day: Lupus organizations to rally together to raise awareness of lupus

The Lupus Foundation of America and lupus organizations around the globe are rallying together on May 10, World Lupus Day, to urge action and raise awareness of lupus, a mysterious and devastating disease that ravages different parts of the body. [More]
Idera to present data from Phase 2 trial of IMO-3100 in patients with psoriasis at IID 2013

Idera to present data from Phase 2 trial of IMO-3100 in patients with psoriasis at IID 2013

Idera Pharmaceuticals today announced presentation of data from its randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial that showed improvements from baseline of up to 90% in Psoriasis Area Severity Index scores in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis following four weeks of treatment with the Toll-like Receptor antagonist IMO-3100. [More]
New treatment could potentially benefit Irish SLE patients, find researchers

New treatment could potentially benefit Irish SLE patients, find researchers

Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland have discovered that a new treatment for the inflammatory condition, Systemic Lupus Erythmstosus could potentially benefit Irish patients who suffer from the condition. [More]

Rigel reports net loss of $25.6 million in first quarter 2013

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. For the first quarter of 2013, Rigel reported a net loss of $25.6 million, or $0.29 per share, compared to a net loss of $23.2 million, or $0.32 per share, in the first quarter of 2012. Weighted average shares outstanding for the first quarters of 2013 and 2012 were 87.1 million and 71.4 million, respectively. [More]

Researchers say tiny thymus teaches immune system to ignore foreign bacteria in gut

The tiny thymus teaches the immune system to ignore the teeming, foreign bacteria in the gut that helps you digest and absorb food, researchers say. [More]
Opsona raises €33M in oversubscribed financing round

Opsona raises €33M in oversubscribed financing round

Opsona Therapeutics Limited, the innate immune drug development company, today announced that it has raised €33 million (US $ 43 million) in an oversubscribed Series C financing. [More]
Hospital for Special Surgery receives grant for new genomics center to study autoimmune diseases

Hospital for Special Surgery receives grant for new genomics center to study autoimmune diseases

Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City has received a $5.6 million grant from The Tow Foundation to establish the Hospital for Special Surgery Genomics Center. [More]
Nanogels to attack lupus: an interview with Dr Look and Dr Fahmy, Yale University

Nanogels to attack lupus: an interview with Dr Look and Dr Fahmy, Yale University

Nanogels are synthetic particles that can be used for drug delivery. They are approximately 100 nm to 200 nm in diameter, and are made from safe, biocompatible materials: a gel-like interior and a lipid exterior. [More]
Rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis: an interview with Dr. Stan Naides, Medical Director, Quest Diagnostics

Rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis: an interview with Dr. Stan Naides, Medical Director, Quest Diagnostics

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that can cause debilitating joint damage. In cases of RA, the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, especially the membranes that line the joints. As a result, fluid builds up in the joints, causing pain and systemic inflammation, leading to joint destruction if untreated. [More]
Researchers urge doctors to consider Lyme disease as cause when presented with skin lesions

Researchers urge doctors to consider Lyme disease as cause when presented with skin lesions

When a person contracts Lyme disease, quick diagnosis and treatment are essential to avoiding long term complications. But the diagnostic process may be delayed if a physician does not recognize a skin rash caused by Lyme disease because it does not have the bull's-eye appearance that is best known to physicians and the public. [More]
Clinical Research Forum selects sickle cell project among 'Top 10' clinical research achievements of 2012

Clinical Research Forum selects sickle cell project among 'Top 10' clinical research achievements of 2012

Pioneering research led by Johns Hopkins scientists on the use of partially matched bone marrow transplants to wipe out sickle cell disease has been selected as one of the Top 10 Clinical Research Achievements of 2012 by the Clinical Research Forum. [More]
Researcher discovers additional mechanical properties of articular cartilage result in osteoarthritis

Researcher discovers additional mechanical properties of articular cartilage result in osteoarthritis

A researcher at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research has discovered additional mechanical properties of articular cartilage, a protective cartilage on the ends of bones that wears down over time, resulting in the development of osteoarthritis. [More]
Telemedicine house calls for Parkinson’s patients: an interview with Dr Ray Dorsey, Johns Hopkins University

Telemedicine house calls for Parkinson’s patients: an interview with Dr Ray Dorsey, Johns Hopkins University

Access to neurological care for Parkinson disease is currently limited by distance, disability, and the distribution of doctors. [More]

AARDA creates new multi-media public service campaign for AD patients

In response to a recent study that found roughly one-third of prescriptions for autoimmune disease patients go unfilled and a high level of physician mistrust exists among AD patients, the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, Inc. has created a new multi-media public service campaign with tools designed to help patients make informed decisions about newly-prescribed therapies and treatments. [More]
AstraZeneca reports fostamatinib Phase 3 study results for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

AstraZeneca reports fostamatinib Phase 3 study results for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

AstraZeneca today announced top-line results of OSKIRA-1, a Phase 3 study to assess the efficacy and safety of fostamatinib, the first oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor in development for rheumatoid arthritis. [More]
Study applying OPKO Health's technology to identify synthetic peptoid in NMO patient serum published

Study applying OPKO Health's technology to identify synthetic peptoid in NMO patient serum published

OPKO Health, Inc. today announced the publication of a study applying its novel library screening technology to identify a synthetic peptoid that binds to anti-Aquaporin 4 antibodies in the serum of patients with Neuromyelitis optica. [More]
Schizophrenia patients experiencing relapse are more likely to develop UTIs

Schizophrenia patients experiencing relapse are more likely to develop UTIs

Schizophrenia patients experiencing relapse are 29 times more likely than healthy individuals to have a urinary tract infection, researchers report. [More]

Same factor that helps fight off severe inflammatory ailments also functions as enemy

The same factor in our immune system that is instrumental in enabling us to fight off severe and dangerous inflammatory ailments is also a player in doing the opposite at a later stage, causing the suppression of our immune response. [More]
Researchers identify link between immune response and blood clotting

Researchers identify link between immune response and blood clotting

Rice University researchers have found an unexpected link between a protein that triggers the formation of blood clots and other proteins that are essential for the body's immune system. [More]