New research underscores the possibility that interleukin (IL) 12, IL-23 or both play roles in the immunopathology of SLE. In the study, when added to standard-of-care treatment for active SLE, ustekinumab demonstrated better efficacy than placebo and had a safety profile consistent with that of ustekinumab therapy in other diseases…
(Reuters)—AstraZeneca’s experimental drug anifrolumab failed to meet its main target in a late-stage clinical study treating patients with moderate to severe lupus, the British drugmaker said on Friday. AstraZeneca said the drug did not meet the main goal in the final-stage of one of the two clinical trials under the TULIP program, failing to show…
The ACR’s Collaborative Initiatives (COIN) department develops and tests innovative solutions for complex rheumatology care problems. “All of the work COIN does—programs toward health equity, creating models to increase rheumatology-related capacity in places of need, building bridges with local and national patient organizations—is done on [behalf of its members],” says Dr. David Daikh. Each month…
Does cognitive dysfunction in SLE patients result from persistent inflammation characterized by ongoing disease activity? Recent research examining this question found no inflammatory mechanism associated with cognitive dysfunction in this patient population, underscoring previous research findings…
CHICAGO—The promise of precision medicine—the tailoring of treatment to a given patient based on genetics and other factors—has probably been best illustrated in oncology, with therapies targeted specifically to markers expressed on tumors. But rheumatology is in the thick of precision medicine as well, said Judith James, MD, PhD, chair of the arthritis and clinical…
(Reuters)—Eli Lilly & Co said its drug to treat autoimmune disease lupus met the main goal of a mid-stage trial, positioning the drugmaker to begin a bigger study later this year. The data come two weeks after U.S. health regulators approved the drug, baricitinib, under the trade name Olumiant, with a far more restrictive label…
A recent study explored medical concerns for patients who have lupus markers, but fall short of meeting enough criteria for official disease classification. Investigators at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation conducted a large study to explore current treatments of patients with incomplete lupus erythematous (ILE) and to compare antibody characteristics to healthy people and patients…
The Rheumatology Research Foundation has been actively involved with the NIH’s Accelerating Medicines Partnership for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (AMP RA/SLE) program, launched in 2014 as a public–private partnership to spur development of new therapeutic options for RA and lupus. Recently, the NIH released new datasets that will help clinical investigators accelerate therapies…
SAN DIEGO—What are the predisposing genes that suggest who will develop active systemic lupus erythematosus and who will stay healthy? Decades of research data help rheumatologists clarify this picture, says Argyrios N. Theofilopoulos, MD, professor of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. At his Nov. 5 lecture at the 2017…
SAN DIEGO—Treatment strategies for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have changed a great deal over the years, but progress has been slow and inadequate. According to a 2011 survey, many patients with lupus still report that they have a low quality of life due to their health problems.1 Rheumatologists face the challenge to develop more successful…