Lupus Science and Medicine Podcast

Which one is better at controlling lupus: Belimumab or Anifrolumab?

Dr. Anna Wolska sits down with experts, Dr. Michelle Petri and Dr. Nick Ballew, analyzing the effectiveness of SLE treatments Belimumab and Anifrolumab. The conversation delves into their meticulous study, where they examined the 52-week SLE Responder Index (SRI)-4 responses, providing crucial data for informed lupus patient care. The study data, based on rigorous randomized trials and systematic literature reviews, offers clinicians invaluable insights into treatment decisions for people living with lupus.
 
Read the published article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2023-000907

Managing Lupus Nephritis: Importance of Immunosuppression and Mitigation of Tissue Fibrosis

Dr. Anna Wolska from the Lupus Foundation of America interviews Drs. Ana Malvar and Brad Rovin. They discuss using repeat tissue biopsies to understand progression of lupus nephritis over time. They offer conjecture that both immunosuppression as well as mitigation of tissue fibrosis, resulting from inflammatory resolution, are needed in order to preserve kidney function and prevent progression to kidney failure.
 
Read the related article - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2023-000932

Testing a new measure of lupus improvement that encompasses the patients’ perspectives and doctors’ evaluations

Dr. Anna Wolska from the Lupus Foundation of America interviews Drs. Anca Askanase and Joan Merrill, the developers of the LFA-REAL tool. Together, they discuss the importance of using a tool like LFA-REAL to understand how clinician and patient reported outcomes are essential for understanding efficacy and effectiveness of experimental therapeutics developed to treat people living with lupus.
 
Read the article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2022-000875

Understanding Lupus: Exploring the Differences between Type 1 and Type 2 Symptoms

Dr. Anna Wolska from the Lupus Foundation of America interviews Dr. Amrie Grammer and Dr. Peter Lipsky from AMPEL BioSolutions. Together they describe the molecular endotypes of Type 1 and Type 2 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. This episode uncovers the distinct molecular profiles of these SLE types and paves the way for personalized treatment approaches based on these classifications.
 
Link to published paper: https://lupus.bmj.com/content/10/1/e000861

Unpacking Lupus Treatment: How Quickly Does Anifrolumab Start Working? Insights from TULIP Trials

Dr. Anna Wolska from the Lupus Foundation of America interviews Dr. Ian Bruce, from the University of Manchester in the UK. Dr Bruce discusses the time to onset of clinical response to Anifrolumab in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The episode delves into pooled data from two significant Phase III trials, TULIP-1 and TULIP-2, offering listeners a deep understanding of the effectiveness and timeline of Anifrolumab treatment.
 
Read the article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2022-000761

Biomarker reduction indicates treatment response to Belimumab

Dr. Anna Wolska from the Lupus Foundation of America interviews Dr. Andrea Fava from Johns Hopkins University about Belimumab treatment in lupus nephritis. Dr Fava elucidates on the correlation between the decrease in urinary CD163 levels and the response to Belimumab treatment in Lupus Nephritis trials. The conversation provides important insights into the efficacy of this treatment option and potential biomarker use for personalized and precision medicine in the future.
 
Read the article: dx.doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2022-000763

Mesenchymal stromal cells: a potential new SLE treatment option?

Duane Peters from the Lupus Foundation of America interviews Dr Gary Gilkeson from the Medical University of South Carolina about a phase I trial into the use of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in refractory lupus patients in the USA, following impressive results of clinical improvement resulting from this therapy in China.
The trial indicated that infusions of MSCs derived from the umbilical cord are safe and may be effective in treating mild to moderate systemic lupus erythematosus, with minimal adverse effects.
Access the article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/lupus-2022-000704

Using patient registries to estimate SLE incidence rate in the USA

Duane Peters from the Lupus Foundation of America interviews Dr Peter Izmirly from New York University and Dr Elizabeth Ferucci from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, both in the USA.
They discuss the establishment of a network of population-based lupus patient registries in the USA and how these have been used to estimate the incidence rate of systemic lupus erythematosus using standardised data stratified by sex, race and ethnicity.
Access the article: https://lupus.bmj.com/content/8/1/e000614

Defining remission in systemic lupus erythematosus

Duane Peters from the Lupus Foundation of America interviews Professor Ronald van Vollenhoven from the Amsterdam University Medical Centers in the Netherlands and Dr Cynthia Aranow from the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York, USA.
They discuss the efforts of the DORIS international task force to agree on a single definition of remission in systemic lupus erythematosus, which they hope will ensure that clinicians, patients and researchers in the field are all working towards the same outcome.
Access the article: https://lupus.bmj.com/content/8/1/e000538

What’s the relationship between self-efficacy and quality of life in SLE patients?

Duane Peters from the Lupus Foundation of America talks to Dr Cristina Drenkard from Emory University and Dr Teresa Brady from Clarity Consulting and Communications, both based in Atlanta, USA.
They discuss their paper on the relationship between levels of self-efficacy and health behaviours and outcomes in black women with SLE. Their study specifically evaluated the associations between age, educational level and depression in SLE patients and the degree of pain and fatigue they experienced. These findings may help predict who might benefit most from self-efficacy-enhancing interventions to improve quality of life.
Access the article: https://lupus.bmj.com/content/9/1/e000566