The Rheumatologist reports on the future of research and treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Current research is investigating the interaction between different immune pathways, and there is a notion that rheumatologists will likely transition from prescribing broad immunosuppressants to more targeted therapies.

The Rheumatologists spoke to Mary K. Crow, MD, physician-in-chief and chief of rheumatology at HSS, who explained the future lies in combination therapies. “To hope that any one target is going to have a profound effect on disease is not right,” said Dr. Crow. “I think we probably need to target several pathways,” she cited, noting the growing understanding of the roles of the innate immune system, T cells and B cells in lupus pathophysiology.

“The scientific community knows a tremendous amount about lupus disease mechanisms,” noted Dr. Crow. “There are many candidate therapeutic targets and promising agents ready for testing,” she added, as new and potential treatment options for patients. Furthermore, the future of lupus research will also see rheumatologists address current problems in lupus clinical trial design. Dr. Crow explained the current outcome measures for lupus are not sufficiently informative for clinical trials.

Read the full article at the-rheumatologist.org.