ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—Although rheumatologists have struggled with a lack of new therapies for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), recent positive trial results have brought renewed hope for more treatments.
That was the theme of the ACR Convergence 2020 session, State of the Art: Lupus—The Future Is Now, led by Peggy Crow, MD, the Benjamin M. Cohen Chair in Immunology and Inflammation Research at the Hospital for Special Surgery and professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, both in New York City.
Focal points for new lupus therapies include combination therapies that target the interferon pathway, autoantibody production and effector macrophages that all hold more promise than current treatment approaches, Dr. Crow says.
Further analysis of genetic variants that are associated with an increased risk for lupus also could help identify molecular pathways that contribute to disease development, Dr. Crow says.
Other therapeutic targets discussed by Dr. Crow in the State of the Art session were the use of type 1 interferon to activate the innate immune response and the use of toll-like receptor 7.
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