This review summarises most currently used indices to assess and monitor patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in clinical trials, long-term observational studies, and clinical care. Six SLE disease activity indices include the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group Index (BILAG), European Consensus Lupus Activity Measurement (ECLAM), Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM), Systemic Lu...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of serial measurement of urine neopterin concentration in monitoring the progression of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease activity scored using the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) index. METHODS We followed prospectively 68 unselected SLE patients for a total of 464 patient months during which 233 separate assessments were carried out. A...

OBJECTIVE To describe the 6-month clinical outcome and the long-term safety profile of B cell depletion therapy (BCDT) in 50 patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), who were nonresponsive or poorly responsive to conventional immunosuppression. METHODS All except 4 of 50 patients with active SLE received 1 gm of rituximab, 750 mg of cyclophosphamide, and 100-250 mg of methylpr...

Background: BILAG-2004 Index (BILAG-2004) has undergone construct and criterion validity is used to assess disease activity in SLE. However, its predictive yet be established. Objectives: This study was determine if according of development damage an inception cohort. Methods: a prospective multi-centre longitudinal the UK cohort SLE patients (recruited within 12 months achieving 1997 ACR revis...

OBJECTIVE Epratuzumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets CD22, modulates B cell signaling without substantial reductions in the number of B cells. The aim of this study was to report the results of 2 phase III multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, the EMBODY 1 and EMBODY 2 trials, assessing the efficacy and safety of epratuzumab in patients with moderately to severel...

INTRODUCTION Serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) seldom reflect disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We have previously shown that autoantibodies against neo-epitopes of CRP often occur in SLE, but that this does not explain the modest CRP response seen in flares. However, we have repeatedly found that anti-CRP levels parallel lupus disease activity, with highest levels ...

BACKGROUND The relationship between cell-bound complement activation products (CB-CAPs: EC4d, EC3d), anti-C1q, soluble complement C3/C4 and disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was evaluated. METHODS Per protocol, at baseline all SLE subjects enrolled in this longitudinal study presented with active disease and elevated CB-CAPs. At each monthly visit, the non-serological (ns...