Publications
Find coverage of the latest original articles on Lupus, focusing on those with data on therapeutic interventions and those that have clinical impact.
May 2022
High Systemic Type I Interferon Activity Is Associated with Active Class III/IV Lupus Nephritis
The Journal of Rheumatology 2022; 49:388–97 DOI 10.3899/jrheum.210391
Iwamoto, et al. aimed to determine the association of serum IFN activity with subtypes of lupus nephritis. This study suggests that systemic high type I IFN in SLE is involved in the pathogenesis of severe class III/IV LN and contributes to severe kidney involvement in European-American patients with SLE. However, this effect was independent of anti‑dsDNA antibody status and complement levels. Expression of type I IFN was not found to be clearly related to plasmacytoid dendritic cell infiltration, although it did directly stimulate podocytes to induce chemokines and molecules related to podocyte injury.
March 2022
Phase 2 Trial of Iberdomide in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Kidney Int Rep. 2021;7(3):516-525 doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2106535
This Phase 2 trial evaluated iberdomide in patients with moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Phase II randomised trial of type I interferon inhibitor anifrolumab in patients with active lupus nephritis
Ann Rheum Dis. 2022;81(4):496–506 doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221478
Despite not meeting the primary endpoint, this Phase II trial of anifrolumab in patients with active lupus nephritis (LN) demonstrates that anifrolumab IR is associated with numerical improvements over placebo across endpoints – including complete renal response – in patients with active LN.
Clinical meaningfulness of a British Isles Lupus Assessment Group-based Composite Lupus Assessment response in terms of patient-reported outcomes in moderate to severe systemic lupus erythematosus: a post-hoc analysis of the phase 3 TULIP-1 and TULIP-2 trials of anifrolumab
Lancet Rheumatol 2022;4:e198–207
In patients with moderate-to-severe SLE, British Isles Lupus Assessment Group-based Composite Lupus Assessment (BICLA) responders report improvements in disease activity, health-related quality of life, fatigue, and pain.
A secondary analysis of the Belimumab International Study in Lupus Nephritis trial examined effects of belimumab on kidney outcomes and preservation of kidney function in patients with lupus nephritis
Kidney Int. 2022;101(2):403-413 doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2021.08.027
Post-hoc analysis data suggests that the addition of belimumab to standard therapy may be effective in preserving long-term kidney function in patients with lupus nephritis (LN).
Efficacy of anifrolumab across organ domains in patients with moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus: a post-hoc analysis of pooled data from the TULIP-1 and TULIP-2 trials
Lancet Rheumatol. Published online February 3, 2022
Across two pivotal phase 3 trials (TULIP-1 and TULIP-2), anifrolumab treatment improved systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease activity across multiple organ domains, compared with placebo.
Easy-BILAG: a new tool for simplified recording of SLE disease activity using BILAG-2004 index
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab883
Easy-BILAG is a high-accuracy, time-efficient tool for recording BILAG-2004 disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Disease activity measurements in SLE are necessary for optimal patient care, treat-to-target approaches and clinical guidelines. However, administrative burden and potential frequency of errors with the current comprehensive disease activity instrument (BILAG-2004) limits its use in routine practice.