Lupus treatment recreates the dawn

a drug that prevents the body's immune system from being too active may be the key to treating lupus. It will be the second new drug to treat autoimmune diseases in 60 years. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
about 5 million people worldwide suffer from lupus erythematosus. The disease causes the body's immune system to attack healthy organs, causing rashes, joint and muscle pain, fatigue and premature death.
, of Monash University in Australia, says there is no cure for lupus and doctors often rely on treatments that have been used since the 1950s. However, one in 10 people diagnosed with the disease, especially young women, dies within 10 years of diagnosis.
growing evidence that lupus is associated with the secretion of excessive type 1 interferon. This interferon is involved in regulating the body's immune system. This prompted Morand and colleagues to study the role of Anifrolumab. Anifrolumab is a drug that binds to a type 1 interferon-like complex and prevents molecules from overstating the immune system.
they randomly assigned 362 patients with moderate to severe lupus symptoms to receive a 300 mg placebo or Annifrolumab injection every four weeks for nearly a year.
the successful test was that all organs that showed symptoms of the disease at the beginning of the study improved and did not relapse within a year. The researchers found that 48 percent of participants who took the drug met that goal, while only 32 percent of those who took a placebo met that goal.
, 52 percent of patients who took steroids to treat lupus reduced their dose, compared with 30 percent in the control group. This is important because steroids often have side effects such as weight gain, osteoporosis, fragile skin and infections.
" lupus patients are usually accompanied by additional complications. "After taking steroids for a long time, the harmful effects of lupus itself seem to be magnified - so it's a real double-edged sword. Sean O Neill
of the University of Sydney, said the findings were "a huge achievement for a disease that desperately needs to make progress".
, however, Anifrolumab still has side effects to overcome. The drug increases the risk of upper respiratory tract infections, such as the common cold and shingles, and people who have taken the drug have died of pneumonia. (Source: Zong Hua, China Science Journal)
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