Lupus Erythematosus News and Research

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Study explores link between alexithymia and auto-immune disease

This paper, which explores the link between the inability to express emotions and an auto-immune disease, failed to find any statistical significant associations.

29 Apr 2011

Researchers discover molecular mechanisms behind autoimmunity

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine have discovered that human proteins with an affinity for Dermatan Sulfate have the propensity to become autoantigens. In a companion article, the researchers also found that DS physically interacts with dead cells and that the resulting DS-autoantigen complexes drive autoreactive B-1a cell responses and autoantibody production both in-vitro and in mouse models.

26 Apr 2011

LMP1 viral protein needs TRAF6 cellular protein to promote B cell activation signaling pathways: Study

By identifying a surprising association of two intracellular proteins, University of Iowa researchers have laid the groundwork for the development of new therapies to treat B cell lymphomas and autoimmune disease.

20 Apr 2011

Early uMSC transplantation may treat lupus nephritis

Human umbilical cord blood-derived mensenchymal stem cells have been found to offer benefits for treating lupus nephritis when transplanted into mouse models of systemic lupus erythematosus.

12 Apr 2011

ALR announces medical research grant awards to cure lupus

The Alliance for Lupus Research – the world's largest private funder of lupus research – today announced its most recent medical research grant awards, totaling $3.6 million, which support the ALR mission of finding better treatments and ultimately preventing and curing systemic lupus erythematosus, a debilitating autoimmune disease.

7 Apr 2011

Lupus nephritis ESRD study finds increase in incidence rates among children, African Americans

New research documenting changes in the incidence and outcomes of end-stage renal disease in the U.S. between 1995 and 2006, found a significant increase in incidence rates among patients 5 to 39 years of age and in African Americans.

28 Mar 2011

Scientific advances at Scripps Research lay foundation for new lupus drug Benlysta

Scientific advances at The Scripps Research Institute were key to laying the foundation for the new drug Benlysta® (belimumab), approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Benlysta®, which treats the most common type of lupus, is the first in a new class of pharmaceuticals that prevents the body from attacking its own critical tissues.

11 Mar 2011

ALR commits funding for new study to identify lupus susceptibility genes in multiple ethnicities

The Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR) – the world's largest private funder of lupus research – today announced funding of an important new study to identify lupus susceptibility genes in multiple ethnicities including African Americans, who are three times more likely than Caucasians to have the disease.

10 Mar 2011

FDA approves BENLYSTA for active, autoantibody-positive systemic lupus erythematosus

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved BENLYSTA® (belimumab) for the treatment of adult patients with active, autoantibody-positive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who are receiving standard therapy.

10 Mar 2011

Human Genome Sciences receives FDA approval for Benlysta to treat lupus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Benlysta to treat patients with active, autoantibody-positive lupus who are receiving standard therapy, including corticosteroids, antimalarials, immunosuppressives, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

9 Mar 2011

The Lancet journal publishes BENLYSTA BLISS-52 study against SLE

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC today announced publication of the BLISS-52 study of BENLYSTA in autoantibody-positive patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus in The Lancet.

7 Feb 2011

Immunomedics reports net loss of $3.4M in total revenues for second quarter 2011

Immunomedics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended December 31, 2010.

5 Feb 2011

Researchers identify regulatory defect that drives lupus

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Cambridge, Mass., in collaboration with Jackson Laboratory scientists, have identified a regulatory defect that drives lupus.

4 Feb 2011

Interferon-alpha associated with increased risk of atherosclerosis in patients with SLE

Researchers in China have demonstrated interferon-alpha (IFN-α) is associated with increased risk of atherosclerosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). For the first time, IFN-α priming was shown to promote lipid uptake and foam cell formation—a crucial step in plaque build-up. This activation of the IFN signaling pathway may be linked to the premature atherosclerosis risk in SLE.

27 Jan 2011

SuppreMol completes successful pre-IND meeting with U.S. FDA

SuppreMol GmbH, a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, today announced that it has successfully completed a pre-Investigational New Drug Application (pre-IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead compound SM101, which is being developed for the treatment of Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).

24 Jan 2011

New research finds pattern for detecting 'false-positive' ANA results

The presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) indicates the possibility of autoimmunity and the indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) assay on HEp-2 cells is the standard blood test (ANA-HEp-2) used to detect ANA. However, studies have shown that a "false-positive" ANA test occurs in up to 13% of healthy individuals. In such cases the test detects the presence of autoantibodies that apparently are not associated with autoimmunity.

4 Jan 2011

Study reveals immune cell provides new therapeutic strategy for SLE

A new study provides fascinating insight into the underlying pathology associated with the autoimmune disease, systemic lupus erythematosus.

16 Dec 2010

Immunomedics, UCB initiate enrollment in EMBODY 1 epratuzumab Phase III study in SLE

Immunomedics Inc. and UCB today announced the enrollment of the first patient into EMBODY™ 1, one of two pivotal Phase III studies of epratuzumab in patients with moderate to severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Patient enrollment for EMBODY™ 2 has also begun.

14 Dec 2010

Research: Kidney disease caused by autoimmune disease lupus may be twice as lethal in children

Kidney disease caused by the autoimmune disease lupus may be twice as lethal in children as kidney disease caused by other disorders, according to research led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center investigators.

13 Dec 2010

FDA extends PDUFA review target date for BENLYSTA BLA to treat systemic lupus erythematosus

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target date for its priority review of the Biologics License Application (BLA) for BENLYSTA® (belimumab) as a potential treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) from December 9, 2010 to March 10, 2011.

4 Dec 2010