Publications
Find coverage of the latest original articles on Lupus, focusing on those with data on therapeutic interventions and those that have clinical impact.
February 2025
Opportunities and limitations of B bell depletion approaches in SLE
Nature Review Rheumatol, 2025;21:111–126 DOI: 10.1038/s41584-024-01210-9
Stockfelt et al. reviewed the long-term efficacy and challenges of B cell depletion strategies in SLE. Rituximab, a CD20-targeting monoclonal antibody, has demonstrated efficacy in a subset of patients but remains limited by immunogenicity, residual B cells, and B-cell activating factor (BAFF)-mediated relapse. Newer strategies incorporating CAR T cells, bispecific T cell engagers, and combination therapies aim to enhance B cell depletion and optimise outcomes.
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Efficacy and safety of obinutuzumab in active lupus nephritis
NEJM, 2025. Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2410965
Furie et al. demonstrated that obinutuzumab plus standard therapy significantly improved complete renal response at Wk76 compared with placebo. No unexpected safety signals were identified, though infections and COVID-19-related events were more frequent in the obinutuzumab group.
May 2022
Efficacy and Safety of Obinutuzumab in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients with Secondary Non-response to Rituximab
Rheumatology 2022;00:1–5 DOI.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keac150
Arnold, et al. present the first case series reporting the efficacy and safety of obinutuzumab in patients with treatment refractory SLE. The results indicate that, for this group of patients with limited treatment approaches, obinutuzumab could be a potential option.