The Louise Coote Lupus Unit is part of the Eurolupus consortium which has been engaged in large scale long term studies of lupus across Europe.

These studies have enrolled 1000 lupus patients and followed them for long periods of time to learn more about the natural history of lupus and its various clinical features. We have also been involved in two large European studies in kidney disease that have demonstrated that it is possible to use lower and safer doses of the powerful drug cyclophosphamide without compromising effectiveness at preventing kidney failure.

References

Cervera R, et al European Working Party on Lupus. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.Systemic lupus erythematosus in Europe at the change of the millennium: lessons from the "Euro-Lupus Project". Autoimmun Rev. 2006;5:180-6.

Houssiau FA, Vasconcelos C, D'Cruz D, Sebastiani GD, de Ramon Garrido E, Danieli MG, Abramovicz D, Blockmans D, Cauli A, Direskeneli H, Galeazzi M, Gül A, Levy Y, Petera P, Popovic R, Petrovic R, Sinico RA, Cattaneo R, Font J, Depresseux G, Cosyns JP, Cervera R. The 10-year follow-up data of the Euro-Lupus Nephritis Trial comparing low-dose and high-dose intravenous cyclophosphamide. Ann Rheum Dis. 2010;69:61-4.

Houssiau FA, D'Cruz D, Sangle S, Remy P, Vasconcelos C, Petrovic R, Fiehn C, de Ramon Garrido E, Gilboe IM, Tektonidou M, Blockmans D, Ravelingien I, le Guern V, Depresseux G, Guillevin L, Cervera R; MAINTAIN Nephritis Trial Group. Azathioprine versus mycophenolate mofetil for long-term immunosuppression in lupus nephritis: results from the MAINTAIN Nephritis Trial.
Ann Rheum Dis. 2010;69:2083-9.

Stoenoiu MS, Aydin S, Tektonidou M, Ravelingien I, le Guern V, Fiehn C, Remy P, Delahousse M, Petera P, Quémeneur T, Vasconcelos C, D'Cruz D, Gilboe IM, Jadoul M, Karras A, Depresseux G, Guillevin L, Cervera R, Cosyns JP, Houssiau FA; for the MAINTAIN Nephritis Trial Group. Repeat kidney biopsies fail to detect differences between azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil maintenance therapy for lupusnephritis: data from the MAINTAIN Nephritis Trial. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2011.