Rheumatologists should not be falsely reassured by a normal mean blood pressure in lupus patients, according to a study from Johns Hopkins University that found age-related blood pressure patterns in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) differ from the general population and that increased diastolic blood pressure variability (BPV) is highly associated with cardiovascular events in SLE.1…
Given how unexpectedly front and center hydroxychloroquine has been in discussions about the treatment of COVID-19 this year, it makes sense to look at how it became so central to the treatment of a rheumatologic condition. In 1991, an article appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine that would alter the way rheumatologists approached…
A recent study found SLE patients may improve their daily physical function, pain and overall quality of life by adding upper limb exercises to stable treatment regimens and routine care…
A recent study reinforces the growing understanding that the fatigue many SLE patients experience should be considered a lupus symptom. Researchers found that using patient-reported outcomes to identify type 2 symptoms of SLE may improve patient communication, understanding and overall care…
How does a patient transition from health to active SLE? This question is the crux of the research conducted by Judith A. James, MD, PhD, and colleagues…
A recent study published in Lupus Science & Medicine lays out five of the top barriers impeding progress in lupus diagnosis and treatment.1 The Addressing Lupus Pillars for Health Advancement project (ALPHA), led by the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), researchers at the Tufts School of Medicine Center for the Study of Drug Development (Tufts…
The Johns Hopkins Lupus Center, Baltimore, has described its experience using hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) levels.1 Forty-four percent of its patients had levels below 500 ng/mL (partial nonadherence); 13% were severely nonadherent (<200 ng/mL). They were shown their results and educated on HCQ adherence. Adherence then improved to 80%; those with lower HCQ levels had higher disease…
A recent study is the first to examine pragmatic language skills in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), finding that approximately half of SLE patients have pragmatic language dysfunction…
ATLANTA—When it comes to identifying reliable biomarkers that can predict worsening illness or help point to proper treatment, it’s hard to imagine a more vexing disease than systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), said Jill P. Buyon, MD, director of the Lupus Center at New York University Langone Medical Center, in the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting session…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—New European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology (EULAR/ACR) classification criteria can be used to identify patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in an unselected group of patients hospitalized for pericardial effusion, new findings show.1 “Overall, in patients with pericardial effusion and positive ANA, the diagnosis of SLE could be ruled out…