When I began my tenure as ACR president this past November, I posited that it “takes a village” to grow and succeed in rheumatology’s rapidly changing environment. The ACR village includes volunteers who represent a diverse leadership pipeline reflecting the demographics of our younger members. It also includes the international rheumatology community that accounts for…
I read with interest the Diagnostic View (TR, April), which, according to the authors, represented a case of rhupus, an overlap syndrome of RA and SLE. I challenge this view. My arguments: In the case of erosive RA, typically erosive changes are seen at MTP joints other than MTP1 (e.g., MTP5). In addition, the erosive…
New research investigates the role of autophagy, specifically the cell digestion process called LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP), in inflammation and the pathology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Researchers found that defects in this process result in failure to digest dying cells, which increases inflammatory cytokine production and results in SLE-like disease in mice. Further exposure to dying cells accelerated disease development…
A recent study from the U.K. calculated the incidence of comorbidity associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), specifically looking for cardiovascular disease, stroke, end-stage renal failure, cancer, osteoporosis and infection. Even after adjusting for age, sex and other variables, investigators found that people with SLE have an increased global burden of comorbidity compared with the general population. Additionally, the study found that men with SLE had higher rates of cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer, while women with SLE had higher rates of infection and osteoporosis. Overall, younger people with SLE had the greatest relative risk compared with controls…
New research has found that the amyloid protein curli triggers immune activation and autoantibody production in lupus-prone and wild-type mice. Stefania Gallucci, MD, says these results provide insight into the mechanisms of bacterial infection that may result in lupus…
A recent case study revealed that an infant from a donor egg developed neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) and a congenital heart block, which may have been due to the presence of antibodies to Ro and La in the birth mother—not the genetic mother. The results suggest that a gestational mother with a history of autoimmune disease is sufficient to trigger the pathology of NLE…
LONDON (Reuters)—Britain’s healthcare cost watchdog has finally approved GlaxoSmithKline’s lupus drug Benlysta (belimumab) for limited use, after rejecting it since 2011 on the grounds that it failed to offer good value for money. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said on Tuesday that the drug would be made available under a managed…
A recent study found that plasmacytoid dentricitic cells (pDCs) control the differentiation of immature B cells into regulatory B (Breg) cells or plasmablast, depending on the concentration of IFNα. For patients with SLE, researchers found that immune regulatory feedback between pDCs and Breg cells is dysfunctional, with the exception of patients who respond to rituximab…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Sifalimumab, an anti-interferon alpha monoclonal antibody, may lead to some improvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a new trial. In a paper online on March 23 in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Dr. Munther Khamashta of King’s College London and colleagues note that treatment of SLE presents a…
A new study has found that treating patients who have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with vitamin D decreases cardiovascular risk in these patients—specifically by modifying the body’s endothelial repair mechanisms. Researchers found myeloid angiogenic cells in this patient population presented with a global impairment, including decreased migration and angiogenic capacity…