Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Infection & Hospitalization in SLE

Arthritis Care & Research | August 4, 2015

From 1996–2011, the rates of hospitalization due to serious infectious diseases in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) increased substantially, according to new research. In a retrospective data-driven study, researchers plotted and compared hospitalization and in-hospital mortality rates of SLE and non-SLE populations, determining the trends for the five most common infections…

New Study Examines Pregnancy Risk Factors for Patients with Lupus

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | July 20, 2015

Important new findings show that a majority of women with inactive or stable SLE can have successful pregnancies without experiencing flares and give birth to infants who survive the neonatal period…

The ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium: Experts Discuss Jakinibs, Osteoarthritis, Membranous Lupus Nephritis

Thomas R. Collins | July 14, 2015

CHICAGO—With the approval of the Jak inhibitors (i.e., jakinibs) tofacitinib and ruxolitinib—and others being investigated—rheumatologists need to arm themselves with an understanding of these drugs so they can think critically when evaluating them and deciding how to use them, said John O’Shea, MD, chief of the Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch of and scientific director…

Rontalizumab May Help Patients with Lupus & Low Interferon Signature

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | July 13, 2015

In a Phase 2 study, researchers found that rontalizumab was a more effective treatment in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who had an interferon signature metric score lower than 1.

Study Reveals Role of IL-17–Secreting CD4+ T Cells in Lupus

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | June 15, 2015

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are characterized by high-titer, highly specific, isotype-switched antibodies against DNA and RNA. Patients have both CD4+ T helper (Th) cell- dependent as well as Th cell-independent autoantibody production. Two mouse models of lupus demonstrate T-cell–independent autoantibody production: the pristane model of lupus, as well as in the MRL/lpr mouse…

Naive B Cells Activate & Expand During Lupus Flares

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | June 15, 2015

New research published in May indicates a possible connection between B cells and the occurrence of systemic lupus erythematosus symptoms.

Plaquenil: From Malaria Treatment to Managing Lupus, RA

Charles Radis, DO | May 15, 2015

In 1984, I wrote my first prescription for the antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), for a 28-year-old woman with SLE. She was considerably overweight, with inflammatory arthritis and a photosensitive rash, and I worried that oral corticosteroids would tip her over into diabetes. I presented the case to my attending, Steven Malawista, MD, at the Yale…