January 18, 2012
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) — Researchers have identified a DNA sequence that appears to speed up the progression of lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissues.
“Enhancers” are DNA sequences that accelerate the activation of neighboring genes, according to Italian researchers. In the case of lupus, researchers identified a particular DNA sequence, called HS1.2, which may play a role in the most severe cases of the disease, which can cause joint pain, fever, skin rashes, hair loss and anemia.
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November 5, 2011
SATURDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) — Pregnancy is safe for most women with stable lupus, a new study indicates.
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect many organs of the body and cause arthritis, fatigue and rashes. Lupus has been known to cause complications for pregnant women. The disease occurs mostly in women, often emerging in their 20s and 30s when many women want to have children.
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December 24, 2010
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Dec. 24 (HealthDay News) — For years now, doctors have made slow, incremental progress in the treatment of lupus, a chronic autoimmune condition that can wrack the body and seriously affect a person’s health.
But researchers now are preparing for a potential major leap forward.
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December 17, 2010
FRIDAY, Dec. 17 (HealthDay News) — Children and adults with kidney disease caused by the autoimmune disease lupus have a higher risk of death than those with other types of kidney disease, researchers have found.
Systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly known as lupus, affects one or more parts of the body, such as the eyes, joints, skin, heart and kidneys. Up to 80 percent of children with lupus suffer kidney damage.
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November 16, 2010
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers voted 13-2 Tuesday to recommend approval of the first new drug in more than 50 years to treat the autoimmune disease lupus.
The drug, belimumab (Benlysta), is a so-called monoclonal antibody drug developed to treat patients who suffer from systemic lupus erythematosus.
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November 5, 2010
FRIDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) — Over the past 10 years, treatment options for patients with an inflammatory kidney disorder known as lupus nephritis have vastly improved, according to a new review.
This means that patients with lupus nephritis, which is a complication that can occur in individuals with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), can now expect a better quality of life, without many of the harsh treatment side effects.
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September 1, 2010
By Melissa Lee Phillips
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 1 (HealthDay News) — Overactive blood platelets could trigger inflammation in those with lupus, but the anti-clotting drug Plavix might ease the painful symptoms of this autoimmune disease, a new study suggests.
Platelets, which are the colorless, disc-shaped blood cells that are key to clotting, are suspected to be involved in lupus, explained senior study author Dr. Patrick Blanco, of the University of Bordeaux in France, but “their precise role was poorly understood until now.”
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February 26, 2010
FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) — An increase in certain types of immune system antibodies may contribute to the development of heart disease in people with active lupus, a new study finds.
Lupus is an autoimmune illess in which the immune system creates antibodies that attack the body’s own cells, causing widespread inflammation that results in damage to tissue and organs, including the heart, kidneys, brain, blood, skin and joints. Read More
September 11, 2009
FRIDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) — Blacks and Hispanics appear more likely than whites to develop the most common form of the autoimmune disease lupus and to develop more severe complications from it, new research shows.
Lupus, also known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic inflammatory disease that often affects the joints, kidneys, blood and nervous system, is generally known to strike women more often than men and some ethnic groups more than others. Its severity can range from mild to fatal. Read More
July 30, 2009
THURSDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) — The two prime means by which the seasonal influenza vaccine activates the immune system against the virus appear to be diminished in people with lupus, a new study finds.
According to Dutch researchers led by Albert Holvast, of the University of Groningen, the human immune system goes on alert against the seasonal flu virus after vaccination in two ways. First, it generates antibodies specifically reacting to the flu virus, and secondly, it primes certain immune T-cells to respond to the flu bug. Read More
