EULAR 2013: Women with inactive lupus nephritis (LN) appear to be at low risk for renal flares if they replace mycophenolate mofetil with azathioprine during pregnancy to protect the fetus. More »
EULAR 2013: European doctors who choose rituximab for systemic lupus erythematosus, for which is is not approved, reserve it for more severe cases. More »
(AUDIO) Dr. Mark Shlomchik has won the first $200,000 Insight Prize for research that led toward new lupus drugs such as belimumab. In a brief recorded interview, hear how the award may help him find an explanation for the links between infection and lupus. More »
A small pilot trial from the Karolinska Institute finds positive results for rituximab in lupus nephritis patients for whom conventional treatments have failed. More »
New in the major nonspecialist journals: Bevra Hahn MD tells how she uses belimumab in lupus, a case report of an adverse effect of rituximab, a new proposal for identifying osteoporosis. More »
Some patients with systemic lupus erythematosus or antiphospholipid syndrome may initially present with movement disorders, especially chorea. Physicians may not associate these symptoms with either disorder, thereby delaying diagnosis and effective treatment. More »
The latest results from two late-stage, multicenter clinical trials of belimumab (Benlysta) show that, when given alongside standard therapy for systemic lupus erythematosus, the drug improves health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and fatigue. More »
SLE is associated with a deficiency in cluster of differentiation 247 (CD247, also known as CD3 zeta chain), a component of the T-cell receptor (TCR)–CD3 complex. A comprehensive analysis showed that in more than half of SLE patients tested CD247 expression was either attenuated or absent. Recent evidence suggests that these variations in expression profiles may be due, at least in part, to polymorphisms in the CD247 gene. Aberrant CD247 transcript variants displaying either spliced
Assess the effects of belimumab treatment plus standard systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) therapy on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with active, autoantibody-positive SLE.
Methods
Patients received standard therapy plus placebo or belimumab 1 or 10 mg/kg in two multicentre, randomised controlled trials of 52 (BLISS-52; N=865) and 76 (BLISS-76; N=819) weeks’ duration. Responders were evaluated by SLE Responder Index at week
Objective. A review of the literature was undertaken to evaluate the development and psychometric properties of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures used in adults with SLE. This information will help clinicians make an informed choice about the measures most appropriate for research and clinical practice.
Methods. Using the key words lupus and quality of life, full original papers in English were identified from six databases: OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, Allied and Complemen
Pathogenic IgG autoantibodies have established roles in diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Less familiar are the influences of naturally arising IgM autoantibodies, which enhance phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells and have the capacity to block inflammatory responses induced by Toll-like receptor ligands and autoantibody-containing immune complexes. Intriguing data from animal models and clinical studies, suggesting that it might become possible to exploit these
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Refunding Overpayments: Two Options for Medical Practices Ericka L. Adler, June 12, 2013 Medicare and Medicaid providers must return overpayments once identified. Here are two different refund approaches for practices to consider when necessary.
iPad Alternatives for Mobile Physicians Marisa Torrieri, June 11, 2013 As more physicians are seeing the merits of media tablets, the market is expanding, too.
