The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Dr. Peter Schur Discusses Lupus Treatment, Management Advances in Past 50 Years

Dr. Peter Schur Discusses Lupus Treatment, Management Advances in Past 50 Years

June 13, 2017 • By Vanessa Caceres

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

Although systemic lupus erythematosus still does not have a definite cause or cure, rheumatologists and researchers over the past 50 years have witnessed and contributed to a great deal of progress that helps patients, says Peter H. Schur, MD, director emeritus of the Lupus Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and professor, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

You Might Also Like
  • Lupus Treatment Advances Lag Behind Other Rheumatic Diseases
  • Cure, Effective Treatment for Lupus Nephritis Remain Elusive Despite Advances
  • Bipolar Disorder, Nailfold Capillaroscopy Score, Urban Location Among Risk Factors for Developing Lupus
Explore This Issue
June 2017
Also By This Author
  • RA Patients with ILD & Liver Disease Present Treatment Challenges

Dr. Schur’s long career began after he attended Harvard Medical School and completed a residency in internal medicine at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, The Bronx, New York, in the early 1960s. Subsequently, he served in the U.S. Army (Medical Corps), doing research at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C. During a fellowship at Rockefeller University in New York, Dr. Schur worked in the lab of Henry G. Kunkel, MD, a pioneer in immunological research. While there, Dr. Schur helped develop a complement assay to detect antibodies for DNA.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Dr. Schur has been at the helm of bench research related to lupus while also remaining a clinician. Among other career highlights, he has served as editor in chief of Arthritis & Rheumatism, editor of the rheumatology section of the medical resource UpToDate (a role he continues today), and co-author of the book In Search of the Sun with one of his patients. Dr. Schur also helped found the Lupus Foundation of America.

With this rich background, Dr. Schur was able to offer The Rheumatologist a unique perspective on some of the biggest milestones in lupus over the past 50 years.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Better Drugs & Survival—But Not a Perfect Scenario

Lupus may not have made the same drug-related advances that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has, but there have been enough positive changes that survival rates have significantly improved in comparison to 50 years ago, Dr. Schur says. “If you look at survival statistics, in the late 1950s, there was a 50% chance of four-year survival. Now, 90% of lupus patients have a 10- to 20-year survival rate. That’s a whopping difference,” he says.

Systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus.
Biophoto Associates / ScienceSource.com

A proliferation of new drugs to treat lupus has not occurred over the past few decades, but corticosteroids have remained a steady part of the treatment mix. “The major trend I’ve seen is that less [steroids] may be better, but we’re still using pulse steroids,” he says. Corticosteroids remain a key part of treatment even though no randomized controlled trials exist to identify the optimal dose for patients with lupus. Although research has found an increased risk in cardiovascular disease associated with long-term corticosteroid use, the bottom line remains that people with lupus are living longer and better with current treatments, Dr. Schur says.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: Conditions, SLE (Lupus) Tagged With: advances, Diagnosis, Dr. Peter Schur, Lupus, Management, Pathogenesis, Research, Rheumatic Disease, rheumatology, SLE, Systemic lupus erythematosus, TreatmentIssue: June 2017

You Might Also Like:
  • Lupus Treatment Advances Lag Behind Other Rheumatic Diseases
  • Cure, Effective Treatment for Lupus Nephritis Remain Elusive Despite Advances
  • Bipolar Disorder, Nailfold Capillaroscopy Score, Urban Location Among Risk Factors for Developing Lupus
  • Professor Shares Findings from 45 Years of Lupus Research

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2021 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.