Drug-induced lupus erythematosus and ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) are both autoimmune conditions associated with the use of hydralazine, a commonly prescribed drug for hypertension and congestive heart failure. Although the pathogenesis is unknown, it is believed that hydralazine alters neutrophil and lymphocyte function and promotes exposure of antigens, leading to the development of anti-neutrophil antibodies (ANCA)…
Renal arteriosclerosis is common in lupus patients with nephritis and occurs two decades earlier than it does in people without lupus nephritis (LN), report investigators in a study that examined the prevalence of renal arteriosclerosis in LN patients compared with healthy controls.1 The finding suggests that renal arteriosclerosis could be used as a biomarker for…
Our patient was a 33-year-old, 5’2″ Asian woman with a past medical history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The diagnosis was based on serologies positive for anti-nuclear antibodies (ANAs), as well as antibodies to Sm, RNP and SSA. Her illness included neuropsychiatric and cutaneous involvement. She also had a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. She presented…
Patients who do not fulfill classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can be referred to as having probable SLE (pSLE). These patients can be identified with cell-bound complement activation products (CB-CAPs), according to a recently published study in Arthritis & Rheumatology.1 The findings are relevant because the existing Systemic Lupus Erythematosus International Collaborating Clinics…
Over 50 years ago, an article appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine: “Immunologic Factors and Clinical Activity in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.”1 Written by a young postdoctoral fellow, Peter H. Schur, MD, and colleagues, the article synthesized important work in the field at the time. What follows is a discussion of the historical context…
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—This has been a busy year for research publications covering a number of pediatric rheumatic diseases, including the emerging multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) associated with SARS CoV-2. Despite the many challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, a healthy collection of publications covering a wide range of pediatric rheumatology research topics were published…
Three doctors reported on advances in research & treatments for lupus nephritis.
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—Rheumatologists and patients have struggled with a lack of new therapies for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms behind the disease helps shed light on potential treatments. That was the theme of the ACR Convergence session State of the Art: Lupus—The Future Is Now, led by Peggy…
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—Held Nov. 5–9, the ACR’s first fully virtual annual meeting is a wrap, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to catch the highlights. Dozens of research abstracts on various aspects of lupus were presented during the fully virtual event, and David S. Pisetsky, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and immunology at Duke…
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—The definition of cell type depends increasingly on a cell’s molecular features. On Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, Alex Kuo, PhD, senior scientist at Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif., described six technologies that are relatively mature and can be used for rheumatic disease research: Rapidly developing single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq); Cellular indexing…