Jo Spencer has had a career-long interest in human immunology, in particular the structure and function of the gut-associated lymphoid tissue and the origin of human intestinal IgA plasma cells...
Dr Sangle graduated from Shivaji University in India in 1975 and after wide ranging experience in India and Oman he has been working in the Lupus Unit first as senior clinical fellow and now as a speciality doctor.
Rituximab has been used in the in the treatment of severe lupus for many years. It works by depleting the antibody producing B cells in lupus patients...
Belimumab is an antibody treatment that reduces the number of the antibody producing B cells in the immune system which produce the characteristic lupus antibodies. The Lupus Clinical trials unit entered 10 patients into this international study – the largest number recruited in the UK...
One interesting trial was aimed at trying to help patients with lupus on steroids to lose weight. The study showed that this was possible and that reducing carbohydrate intake might be a useful way to avoid the weight gain associated with steroid use...
The Lupus Trust has funded a study that has identified a major new feature of the human immune system that appears to be poorly engaged in lupus. Restoring this process in patients with lupus may be a novel way to restore health.
This is a UK based group of lupus experts led by Prof David Isenberg that has been studying how disease activity can be accurately measured in clinical practice and also in clinical trials.
The Louise Coote Lupus Clinic has been part of this international study group for many years.This group has led the way in setting up large scale international collaborative studies that have been very influential in understanding the clinical features of lupus.
