Lupus News and Research

Latest Lupus News and Research

Antibodies against Imood could be potential treatment for OCD

Mental health conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder could be treated in a new way using drugs that target the immune system, research suggests.

21 Apr 2020

ATS publishes first official clinical practice guidelines for sarcoidosis

New guidance is available for physicians who must go through a number of steps to provide a probable diagnosis of sarcoidosis - an inflammatory disease that affects the lungs, lymph glands, and other organs.

20 Apr 2020

'Chaperone protein' protects against autoimmune diseases, mice study shows

Like a parent of teenagers at a party, Mother Nature depends on chaperones to keep one of her charges, the immune system, in line so that it doesn't mistakenly attack normal cells, tissues and organs in our bodies.

15 Apr 2020

Clinical trial to investigate effectiveness of antimalarial drugs for COVID-19 treatment

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is launching a clinical trial for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

9 Apr 2020

Potential harms associated with some drugs used for treating COVID-19 patients

Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin are being used to treat and prevent COVID-19 despite weak evidence for effectiveness, and physicians and patients should be aware of the drugs' potentially serious adverse events, states a review in CMAJ.

8 Apr 2020

Autoimmunity appears to be increasing in the U.S.

Autoimmunity, a condition in which the body's immune system reacts with components of its own cells, appears to be increasing in the United States, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators.

8 Apr 2020

Promise in reversing kidney damage caused by lupus shown by cancer drug

A drug used for cancer therapy has shown promise in reversing kidney damage caused by systemic lupus erythematosus.

8 Apr 2020

Researchers discover inflammatory mechanism that contributes to autoimmune diseases

The protein STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) is a critical component of the body's innate immune defence system, but can also contribute to chronic autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases.

8 Apr 2020

Medicaid nearing ‘eye of the storm’ as newly unemployed look for coverage

As the coronavirus roils the economy and throws millions of Americans out of work, Medicaid is emerging as a default insurance plan for many of the newly unemployed.

3 Apr 2020

Who should be taking antimalarial drugs as treatment against COVID-19?

Researchers provide a guideline regarding who should be actually taking antimalarial drugs as prophylaxis to prevent getting COVID-19. They say health professionals who are being exposed to COVID-19 positive patients and those who test positive but are asymptomatic should be taking drugs such as Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine. They explain that these populations remain most in need, and because of limited supply, these individuals need to be prioritized.

2 Apr 2020

FDA to trial malaria drugs Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week provided the necessary authorization for clinical trials of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of the novel coronavirus. These two drugs have been claimed by President Donald Trump to be a potential treatment for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which causes COVID-19 disease. To date, there has been no conclusive proof regarding the safety and efficacy of these drugs in COVID-19 cases, say officials.

31 Mar 2020

Removing a gene prevents Type 1 diabetes in mice by disguising beta cells

Removing a gene from the cells that produce insulin prevents mice from developing Type 1 diabetes by sparing the cells an attack from their own immune system, a new UW-Madison study shows.

26 Mar 2020

FDA approves immune-modulating therapy for treatment of multiple sclerosis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ozanimod, an immune-modulating therapy invented at Scripps Research, for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

26 Mar 2020

Deleting a gene prevents Type 1 diabetes in mice by disguising insulin-producing cells

Scientists have innovated a potential method of preventing Type 1 diabetes in those at high risk.

26 Mar 2020

Critical guidance to identify COVID-19 patients at risk of drug-induced sudden cardiac death

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to spread, leading to more than 20,000 deaths worldwide in less than four months. Efforts are progressing to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, but it's still likely 12 to 18 months away.

25 Mar 2020

Why hoarding of hydroxychloroquine needs to stop

A family of old antimalarial drugs — including one that some patients rely on to treat their lupus or rheumatoid arthritis — is becoming harder to get in the United States, pharmacists say, partly because of remarks President Donald Trump has made, highlighting the drugs as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

25 Mar 2020