Lupus News and Research

Latest Lupus News and Research

Who should be taking antimalarial drugs as treatment against COVID-19?

Researchers provide a guideline regarding who should be actually taking antimalarial drugs as prophylaxis to prevent getting COVID-19. They say health professionals who are being exposed to COVID-19 positive patients and those who test positive but are asymptomatic should be taking drugs such as Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine. They explain that these populations remain most in need, and because of limited supply, these individuals need to be prioritized.

2 Apr 2020

FDA to trial malaria drugs Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week provided the necessary authorization for clinical trials of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of the novel coronavirus. These two drugs have been claimed by President Donald Trump to be a potential treatment for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which causes COVID-19 disease. To date, there has been no conclusive proof regarding the safety and efficacy of these drugs in COVID-19 cases, say officials.

31 Mar 2020

Removing a gene prevents Type 1 diabetes in mice by disguising beta cells

Removing a gene from the cells that produce insulin prevents mice from developing Type 1 diabetes by sparing the cells an attack from their own immune system, a new UW-Madison study shows.

26 Mar 2020

FDA approves immune-modulating therapy for treatment of multiple sclerosis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ozanimod, an immune-modulating therapy invented at Scripps Research, for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

26 Mar 2020

Deleting a gene prevents Type 1 diabetes in mice by disguising insulin-producing cells

Scientists have innovated a potential method of preventing Type 1 diabetes in those at high risk.

26 Mar 2020

Critical guidance to identify COVID-19 patients at risk of drug-induced sudden cardiac death

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to spread, leading to more than 20,000 deaths worldwide in less than four months. Efforts are progressing to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, but it's still likely 12 to 18 months away.

25 Mar 2020

Why hoarding of hydroxychloroquine needs to stop

A family of old antimalarial drugs — including one that some patients rely on to treat their lupus or rheumatoid arthritis — is becoming harder to get in the United States, pharmacists say, partly because of remarks President Donald Trump has made, highlighting the drugs as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

25 Mar 2020

Newly discovered molecule in the lymphatic system could play a role in autoimmune diseases

A study by investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery has discovered a molecule in the lymphatic system that has the potential to play a role in autoimmune disease.

22 Mar 2020

How to avoid coronavirus? Lessons from people whose lives depend on it

Andrea Amelse knows hand-washing.

11 Mar 2020

Low socioeconomic status associated with certain kidney diseases

A new study found an inverse association between socioeconomic status and certain kidney diseases. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of CJASN.

20 Feb 2020

Scientists isolate individual cells that cause autoimmune disease

Researchers have homed in on the cells that cause an autoimmune disease to arise in the body. The study, published in the journal Cell in February 2020, as part of the far-seeing Hope Research project, reports on the discovery.

13 Feb 2020

Immune cells count each other in order to decide whether to attack

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications in February 2020 shows that immune cells consult and coordinate with each other at the site of activity to bring about a balanced but adequate reaction and stave off the threat.

13 Feb 2020

Lupus patients who adhere to medications have lower risk of type 2 diabetes

Patients with lupus who take their medications as prescribed have much lower odds of developing type 2 diabetes, a common complication of the disease, finds a new study from the University of British Columbia.

11 Feb 2020

High bacterial levels in half of lupus skin rashes

A new study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology reports that half the skin lesions present in patients with lupus show the presence of viable staph bacteria. This makes them more susceptible to skin infections and also increases the risk that the infection will spread to others.

9 Feb 2020

Lymphopenia may hint a higher risk of future illness, death

Lymphopenia, which indicates lower levels of lymphocytes in the blood, has been tied to a higher risk of future illness and death, a new study found.

13 Jan 2020

New antibody shows promise in active lupus

A new trial involving the use of an antibody called anifrolumab reports improvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) after 52 weeks of treatment. The research, titled 'Trial of Anifrolumab in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus', is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

19 Dec 2019

UAB seminar on the extraordinary science of the immune system

"The human immune system makes my head explode," Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Matt Richtel recently told a University of Alabama at Birmingham freshman seminar on immunology. "This is by far the hardest subject I have ever had to explore."

15 Dec 2019

Yale scientists flip the script on novel cancer therapy to find new insights into lupus

In the last decade, scientists discovered that blocking a key regulator of the immune system helped unleash the body's natural defenses against several forms of cancer, opening up a new era of cancer immunotherapy.

11 Dec 2019

UCLA scientists discover reason for higher rates of autoimmune disease in women than men

UCLA scientists have discovered one reason why autoimmune diseases are more prevalent in women than in men.

11 Dec 2019

NeutroCure project aims to cure inflammatory disease with neutrophils

Curing disease with neutrophils; this is the goal of the NeutroCure project. How will that work? "Neutrophils have a yin yang character," explained Andrés Hidalgo, whose team at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares is one of six member groups participating in this project coordinated by Andriy Mokhir Friedrich from Alexander University, Germany.

5 Dec 2019