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The LUMINA Study

Graciela S. Alarcon, MD, MPH  |  Issue: April 2011  |  

The story of the young woman at the beginning of this piece needn’t have ended so tragically. I hope, therefore, that by focusing attention on the seriousness of lupus among persons of Hispanic descent, especially those with a high proportion of Native American genes, we will meet a growing challenge in public health and improve the outcome of patients with this serious and disabling disease.

The root of the word LUMINA is light. Our study is shedding light on this important area, and the scientific progress has been significant and I hope transformative. Until the care of all patients with lupus is the same, however, I believe that much more light is needed, and I want to be there to keep it shining.

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Dr. Alarcón is professor emeritus of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

References

  1. Alarcón GS. Lessons from LUMINA: A multiethnic US cohort. Lupus. 2008;17:971-976.
  2. Alarcón GS, McGwin G Jr, Bastian HM, et al. LUMINA Study Group Systemic lupus erythematosus in three ethnic groups. VII [correction of VIII]. Predictors of early mortality in the LUMINA cohort. Arthritis Rheum. 2001;45:191-202.
  3. Fernández M, Alarcón GS, Calvo-Alén J, et al. A multiethnic, multicenter cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as a model for the study of ethnic disparities in SLE. Arthritis Rheum. 2007;57:576-584.
  4. Durán S, González LA, Alarcón GS. Damage, accelerated atherosclerosis, and mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: Lessons from LUMINA, a multiethnic US cohort. J Clin Rheum. 2007;13: 350-353.
  5. Durán S, Apte M, Alarcón GS, LUMINA Study Group. Poverty, not ethnicity, accounts for the differential mortality rates among lupus patients of various ethnic groups. J Natl Med Assoc. 2007;99: 1196-1198.
  6. Fessler BJ, Alarcón GS, McGwin G Jr, et al. Systemic lupus erythematosus in three ethnic groups: XVI. Association of hydroxychloroquine use with reduced risk of damage accrual. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:1473-1480.
  7. Pons-Estel GJ, Alarcón GS, González LA, et al. Possible protective effect of hydroxychloroquine on delaying the occurrence of integument damage in lupus: LXXI, data from a multiethnic cohort. Arthritis Care Res. 2010;62: 393-400.
  8. Pons-Estel GJ, Alarcón GS, McGwin G Jr, et al. Protective effect of hydroxychloroquine on renal damage in patients with lupus nephritis: LXV, data from a multiethnic US cohort. Arthritis Rheum. 2009; 61:830-839.
  9. Alarcón GS, McGwin G, Bertoli AM, et al. Effect of hydroxychloroquine on the survival of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: Data from LUMINA, a multiethnic US cohort (LUMINA L). Ann Rheum Dis. 2007;66:1168-1172.

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