Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Alyssa Johnsen, MD, PhD, shares her insight on the importance of understanding key pathways that drive immune-mediated diseases, which can help rheumatologists develop more potent and specific therapies for patients with rheumatic disease.

The reviewers find persistent disease activity and flares despite progress to date. In addition, they point to the persistence of glucocorticoid treatment dependency, comorbidity burden, reduced health-related quality of life, and inconsistent access to high-quality care.

Long-term outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus have improved over time, but unmet needs include glucorticoid dependency and comorbidity burden.

In this episode of Overdrive, the Rheumatology Network podcast, Dr. Kim Gorgens interviews two sisters who've turned a negative healthcare experience into a positive force for change in the lupus community through advocacy. They shared their story during the Patient Perspectives session at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology which was held last month. In this interview, they share their story with Dr. Gorgens.

Anxiety and depression are not uncommon among lupus patients, show studies recently presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.

Patients with SLE or RA had comparable mean QTc length, regardless of whether or not they received hydroxychloroquine treatment

Black patients with lupus have a threefold higher stroke risk and a 24-fold higher ischemic heart disease risk than other ethnic or racial groups with the condition, researchers say.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) who take hydroxychloroquine do not have any differences in their corrected QT (QTc) intervals on electrocardiogram (EKG), even if they have chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to researchers reporting at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology on Monday.

The American College of Rheumatology has launched a project designed to resolve inequities in care for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, a condition that is two or three times more common among ethnic minorities. In this interview, S. Sam Lim, M.D., MPH, chair of ACR’s Collaborative Initiatives Special Committee, tells us more about the project.

Type I Interferon Inhibition Could Benefit Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Rheumatologists and OB-GYNs must communicate openly with each other and to patients with rheumatic diseases who are considering pregnancy.

In this week’s news roundup from Rheumatology Network, we talk with Dr. Chrstine Anastasiou, a rheumatologist with the University of California San Francisco who recently published a study in Arthritis Care and Research that finds significant improvements in mortality for hospitalized patients in the U.S. with systemic lupus, but there remains a high mortality rate among blacks and Hispanics with SLE, and, now among Asian/Pacific Islanders with the condition. Learn more in this interview.

A few weeks after a camping trip in Connecticut, a 24-year-old woman went to her local urgent care center with flu-like symptoms of myalgia, arthralgias, headache, and fever. She reported having an annular lesion on her leg shortly after the trip. Can you diagnose this patient?

Dr. Richard Furie explains the link between systemic lupus erthematosus and COVID-19.

Asian countries regularly see higher rates of SLE prevalence globally.

A new analysis of data from Northwestern Medicine found some chronic inflammatory diseases were associated with a 7-fold increase in risk of heart failure.

The international registry that was created in March to track rheumatology patients who have contracted COVID-19, has released data from the first 110 cases from six continents.

A 16-year-old African American girl reports sudden erythema covering her nose, cheeks, and upper back. Can you diagnose this patient?

The rheumatology community has expressed concerns about the use of hydroxychloroquine sulfate for COVID-19 because the drug is used to treat lupus patients and is already in short supply. The FDA has taken steps to redistribute the drug to hospitals for COVID-19 patients despite the lack of extensive clinical trials testing.

David Karp, MD, PhD, president-elect of ACR discusses what an appropriate hydroxychloroquine trial would look like, alternate treatment options, and how rheumatology experts should approach their patients during this time.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus depend on hydroxychloroquine to control disease activity, but demand for this drug, which was already in short supply, has spiked since President Trump championed its use for COVID-19 patients. The American College of Rheumatology has responded by issuing a series of recommendations. Learn more in this article.

In patients with moderate to severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), anifrolumab (AstraZeneca) was superior to placebo for improving overall disease activity, skin disease and oral corticosteroid tapering, say researchers writing in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Anifrolumab, a potential new treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), was given a second look in a clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine this month. This time, the results look promising. Learn more about the trial in this slideshow.

In this slideshow, we feature the lupus stories that resonated most with our readers in 2019:  Lupus patients are increasingly turning to opioid use to control pain, a study that shows anifrolumab may be the next belimumab for lupus, patients are turning to pill splitting to keep costs down, among others.

Nearly one third of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus use prescription opioids, with around two thirds of those using opioids for more than a year, while emergency department use is associated with increased prescription opioid use, say researchers writing in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report in Septmeber.