about the center
No one knows what causes lupus. Scientists think that certain people are born with the genes for lupus and that something "triggers" the disease to develop. It is thought that a combination of genetics (heredity), environment, and hormones is involved. At this time, there is no cure for lupus, and no single test that can be used to diagnose lupus.
There has been only one drug approved specifically for the treatment of lupus in more than 50 years. There are a variety of reasons for this. Some are due to the complexities of the disease itself, as well as how clinical trials are designed and completed.
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Lupus Symptoms and Research
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Lupus Symptoms and Research
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The symptoms of lupus and how lupus affects the body are different for each person. These symptoms and effects can change, and more than one organ system may be damaged over time.
Lupus is a disease in which a person’s symptoms will improve (causing the disease to be quiescent, or inactive), and will worsen (causing the disease to flare).
These changes in the disease course of lupus cannot be predicted with accuracy (although people with lupus often become familiar with what usually triggers their disease flares).
Lupus affects each individual in different ways, so researchers can have a very difficult time tracking the effects that an investigational drug is having on lupus symptoms in study participants.
The disease can flare for unknown reasons, making it very difficult for researchers to know what role the investigational drug is playing when there is an increase in disease symptoms in study participants.
Lupus can cause damage to different organ systems without warning, so it can be very difficult for researchers to predict which study participants will or will not be able to stay in the study for the required amount of time.
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FDA Approved Medications Used to Treat Lupus
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FDA Approved Medications Used to Treat Lupus
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There are many categories of drugs that doctors use in the treatment of lupus; however only four classes have been approved specifically for lupus by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): the anti-inflammatory drug aspirin; the antimalarial drugs such as hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil®), the biologic monoclonal antibody drug belimumab (Benlysta®), and the corticosteroid drugs prednisone, prednisolone, methylprednisolone, and hydrocortisone.
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Today there are more than 20 investigational drugs for lupus in various phases of research. Lupus research studies funded by the federal government, as well as studies funded by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, are showing promising results and a focus on lupus clinical trials is taking place. Fueled by an increased understanding of the way the human immune system works and what happens in the body to cause autoimmune diseases, and encouraged by the successes in recent years of drugs to treat other autoimmune diseases, scientists across the U.S. and around the world are unraveling the mysteries of lupus.
To live the best life possible with lupus means managing lupus symptoms. In order to manage lupus symptoms, medication choices are crucial … as lupus affects each individual differently. Testing existing medications and developing targeted therapies are both important directions in the development of medication choices. Without clinical research, medication choices are limited.
The LFA has created this Center to help you understand clinical trials, evaluate your options, then make an informed decision about joining a clinical trial.
