Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Year in Review
  • Published:

Systemic lupus erythematosus in 2013

Taking a closer look at biologic therapy for SLE

Clinical, basic and translational research in systemic lupus erythematosus are fast-moving fields. 2013 has seen the publication of some potentially landmark papers, which not only explore the potential of novel agents but also glean new insights from past trials.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Eder, L., Urowitz, M. B. & Gladman, D. D. Damage in lupus patients—what have we learned so far? Lupus 22, 1225–1231 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Rahman, P., Gladman, D. D., Urowitz, M. B., Hallett, D. & Tam, L. S. Early damage as measured by the SLICC/ACR damage index is a predictor of mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus 10, 93–96 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Condon, M. B. et al. Prospective observational single-centre cohort study to evaluate the effectiveness of treating lupus nephritis with rituximab and mycophenolate mofetil but no oral steroids. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 72, 1280–1286 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Ezeonyeji, A. N. & Isenberg, D. A. Early treatment with rituximab in newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus patients: a steroid-sparing regimen. Rheumatology (Oxford) 51, 476–481 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Merrill, J. T. et al. Efficacy and safety of rituximab in moderately-to-severely active systemic lupus erythematosus: the randomized, double-blind, phase II/III systemic lupus erythematosus evaluation of rituximab trial. Arthritis Rheum. 62, 222–233 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Rovin, B. H. et al. Efficacy and safety of rituximab in patients with active proliferative lupus nephritis: the Lupus Nephritis Assessment with Rituximab study. Arthritis Rheum. 64, 1215–1226 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Bosma, A., Abdel-Gadir, A., Isenberg, D. A., Jury, E. C. & Mauri, C. Lipid-antigen presentation by CD1d+ B cells is essential for the maintenance of invariant natural killer T cells. Immunity 36, 477–490 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Wofsy, D., Hillson, J. L. & Diamond, B. Comparison of alternative primary outcome measures for use in lupus nephritis clinical trials. Arthritis Rheum. 65, 1586–1591 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kandala, N. B. et al. Belimumab: a technological advance for systemic lupus erythematosus patients? Report of a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open 3, e002852 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Wallace, D. J. et al. Efficacy and safety of epratuzumab in patients with moderate/severe active systemic lupus erythematosus: results from EMBLEM, a phase IIb, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study. Ann. Rheum. Dis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2012-202760.

Download references

Acknowledgements

Both authors are supported by the National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David A. Isenberg.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Isenberg, D., Rahman, A. Taking a closer look at biologic therapy for SLE. Nat Rev Rheumatol 10, 71–72 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2013.203

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2013.203

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing