UK Research
Lupus News
An increase in nightmares and hallucinations – or ‘daymares’ – could herald the onset of autoimmune diseases such as lupus, say an international team led by researchers at the University of Cambridge and King’s College London.
The researchers argue that there needs to be greater recognition that these types of mental health and neurological symptoms can act as an early warning sign that an individual is approaching a ‘flare’, where their disease worsens for a period.
Experts today call for more value to be given to patients’ ‘lived experiences’ as a study of over 1,000 patients and clinicians found multiple examples of patient reports being under-valued.
The research, led by a team at the University of Cambridge and Kings’ College London, found that clinicians ranked patient self-assessments as least important in diagnostic decisions, and said that patients both over- and under-played their symptoms more often than patients reported doing so.
Researchers at Imperial College London have revealed crucial insights into systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Previous studies from the same Imperial College researchers have suggested that immune cells called CD8 T cells, which normally help to destroy threats to the body such as viruses, appear to malfunction in SLE patients. This may play a role in the immune system spiralling out of control.
There is a national trial in progress called RECOVERY which has four treatment arms, one of which is Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). . St Thomas’ is recruiting patients and the study is being coordinated by infectious disease, respiratory medicine and critical care consultants. The UK chief investigator is based in Oxford.
Two variants of an autoimmune disease that affects thousands but is hard to diagnose are relatively common among black Africans, research shows.
The findings, relating to systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, could improve diagnosis and treatment of the condition.
They could enable better management of the disease in patients of African descent, particularly in southern Africa, where incidence and mortality rates are relatively high.
