| Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) |
| This page was written by Shelley Ensz, and has not yet been medically edited. See Disclaimer. |
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| Causes of Lupus |
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| B Cells and T Cells |
| Regulatory T cells (Tregs) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): past, present and future. Tregs maintain immunologic homeostasis and prevent autoimmunty. In humans most workers report CD4+ Tregs are decreased in subjects with active SLE, but they increase with treatment and clinical improvement. D. Horwitz. Arthritis Research & Therapy. Nov 14 2008. (Also see: B Cells and T Cells) |
| B Cell Targeted Therapies in Autoimmune Diseases. Although these studies contain small cohorts of patients, they demonstrate that B cell-modulating therapies show promise in treatment of a variety of autoimmune diseases such a lupus, myositis, and vaculitis. J Rheumatol 2006 May;33 Suppl 77: 24-28. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: B Cells and T Cells, Dermatomyositis, and Vasculitis) |
| Coronin-1A Gene |
| New Genetic Mutation That Halts The Development Of Lupus Discovered. The lupus-suppressing action is the result of what is known as a nonsense mutation of the Coronin-1A gene (Coro1a) required for the development of the disease. ScienceDaily. 01/17/08. |
| Environmental Exposures |
| Household Insecticides May Be Linked to Autoimmune Diseases. New research suggests a link between women's exposure to household insecticides -- including roach and mosquito killers -- and the autoimmune disorders rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. HealthDay News. (AJC) 10/19/09. (Also see: Rheumatoid Arthritis) |
| An impaired clearance of dying cells can lead to the development of chronic autoimmunity. An impaired clearance of dying cells represents a central pathogenic process in the development of chronic autoimmune diseases like in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). PubMed. Z Rheumatol. 2005 Sep;64(6):370-376. |
| Cigarette Smoking and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Smoking Gun? A meta-analysis of the nine studies on smoking and lupus suggests that current cigarette smoking poses a modest increase in the risk of development, while past smoking does not increase risk. These results suggest that current smoking may be an instantaneous hazard for the development of SLE and that after smoking stop, the risk of SLE returns to that observed in people who have never smoked. Arthritis Foundation. |
| Occupational and environmental exposures as risk factors for systemic lupus erythematosus. This paper describes epidemiologic and experimental research pertaining to occupational and environmental sources of exposure to respirable crystalline silica, solvents and pesticides, and two "lifestyle" factors (smoking and hair dye use). PubMed. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2004 Oct;6(5):367-74. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: Environmental) |
| Genetics |
| New Batch of Lupus Genes Discovered. "It's an important moment in autoimmune disease research." U.S. News & World Report. 01/21/08. (Also see: Autoimmunity) |
| Genes Add Up Risk Of Autoimmune Disease. Geneticists have identified a link between the number of copies of a specific gene an individual has and their susceptibility to autoimmune diseases like lupus that affect the whole body. Medical News Today. 05/25/07. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: Genetics and Autoimmunity) |
| Gene associatied with lupus identified. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified, for the first time, a gene variation associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a complex, inflammatory autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs. innovationsreport. University of Chicago Press Journals 08/19/04. |
| Infection |
| A human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) carrier complicated with various autoimmune diseases including primary biliary cirrhosis. A 47-year-old woman diagnosed as having overlap syndrome with scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus and possible polymyositis associated with primary biliary cirrhosis. (The tests) suggest the possibility of a relationship between HTLV-1 infection and various autoimmune disorders including primary biliary cirrhosis. PubMed. Hepatol Res. 2005 Feb 7. (Also see: Overlap Syndrome, Liver Involvement, and Polymyositis) |
| Sarcoidosis succumbs to antibiotics-implications for autoimmune disease. From time to time there have been reports of autoimmune disease succumbing to tetracycline antibiotics, but many have assumed this was due to coincidence, or to some ill-defined 'anti-inflammatory property' of the tetracyclines. But now the inflammation of sarcoidosis has succumbed to antibiotics in two independent studies. Finally, data showing that the behavior of this hormone is also aberrant in rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Parkinson's, raise the possibility that these diseases may also have a CWD bacterial pathogenesis. PubMed. Autoimmun Rev. 2004 Jun;3(4):295-300. (Also see: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sarcoidosis and Causes of Scleroderma: Infection) |
| Medications |
| Oral Contraceptives Associated With Increased Risk Of Lupus. A new large, population-based observational study found that the use of oral contraceptives was associated with an increased risk of SLE, particularly among women who had recently started taking them. ScienceDaily. 04/08/09. |
| Why minocycline can cause systemic lupus - a hypothesis and suggestions for therapeutic interventions based on it. The tetracycline antibiotic minocycline is widely used in dermatology, but can sometimes cause systemic lupus erythematosus, a serious autoimmune disorder. PubMed. Med Hypotheses. 2004;63(1):31-4. (Also see: Minocycline) |
