Miscellaneous Lupus Topics

An Epstein Barr virus (EBV) vaccine to prevent lupus? EBV infection may be a common trigger, causing the onset of diseases like lupus. This list includes disorders such as: Lupus Sjogren’s disease Rheumatoid arthritis Multiple sclerosis Chronic fatigue syndrome (myalgic …

  Note the impressively higher response rates in the blue bars (Lupkynis + mycophenolate + steroids) compared to pink (standard of care without Lupkynis). Impressive! This graph comes from the Lancet article referenced below. This is what pops up when you …

New research suggests itchy skin is a sign of active lupus. Most lupus experts also know this. However, many other doctors do not. That is why this research is so helpful. We do not want itchy lupus rashes to be …

Johns Hopkins Lupus Center Reviews: Could sunspots in 2025 lead to milder lupus? 2014 photo by NASA showing an 80,000 mile long sun spot (the length of 10 Earths side by side). Photo source Wikipedia Commons and NASA, Greenbelt, MD…

Hot off the press SEP 2020! The future is very bright for lupus treatments!         The future is brighter for lupus patients! Benlysta for lupus nephritis We have 3 drugs that are vying for FDA approval soon: Benlysta for lupus nephritis, …

The American College of Rheumatology Provides Guidance for stopping drugs to enhance the COVID vaccine for immunocompromised patients COVID-19 vaccine: Please get yours! Revised 9/6/21 with new drugs to stop for vaccines per revised ACR recommendations How should we deal …

Lupus Question of The Day: Is Benlysta for mild lupus nephritis? Ask Dr. T question and shortened answer about Benlysta in lupus nephritis Question of the Day: “I have lupus nephritis and just heard that Benlysta has been approved …

February 2023 Update: A new study from Harvard doctors from Hahn J et al shows that women who abided by 5 lifestyle changes (maintain normal weight, exercise regularly, not smoking, drink alcohol in small to moderate amounts, and who eat …

Lupus and Hepatitis B Addendum: The recommendations for hepatitis B vaccines changed in 2022. The CDC recommended that everyone, even those without risk factors, get a hepatitis B series if aged 19 to 59 years old. That is right! …

The Latest Research Answers the Question: “Can discoid lupus turn into systemic lupus erythematosus?” Discoid lupus: note the round “disc” shape, the outer active inflamed border is pink, the central area has scar tissue “Can discoid lupus turn into systemic …

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) can go into a lupus remission on medications or treatment Lupus patient: “My doctor told me last week that she has seen lupus go away in some patients. She said she thinks I am one of …

If we prevent bacteria in urine (bacteriuria), could we decrease lupus flares? Bacteria in urine was found in a study to possibly increase flares in lupus patients. If this is true, then decreasing bacteria in the urine could possibly help …

If you are immunocompromised you should get a 5th COVID vaccine and Evusheld MoreThanLupus posted a Q and A. The answer is: The CDC now recommends that immunocompromised people should get a 5th COVID vaccine 4 months after your fourth …

Read on to learn about newer tests that can help get a more accurate and faster diagnosis of lupus for a positive ANA workup         The Positive ANA Workup Begins the Journey     If someone is found to have a positive antinuclear …

Why do lupus patients need to give a clean catch urine sample every 3 months? Doing a clean catch urine sample wrong can cause false results Around 40% of systemic lupus erythematosus patients develop kidney inflammation (nephritis) and need to …

Updated Part MARCH 2023: Ghalandari et al from the Netherlands reported their results of using Benlysta during pregnancy in the March edition of the journal Lupus. Benlysta During Pregnancy: Safe and Effective [UPDATE MARCH 2023] Can lupus patients get pregnant and …

Stopping Methotrexate for 1 Week as Effective as 2 Weeks after Flu shots [FEB 2023 Update) This was the study design of stopping MTX for either one week or two weeks after flu vaccines A February 2023 study shows that …

Lupus Nephritis Urine Samples: What They Tell Us A lupus nephritis urine sample is important for all SLE patients to give regularly. So, click on the video below to learn why giving a urine sample every 3 months is important …

Not All Supplements and Vitamins for Lupus Patients are Safe Vitamins for lupus patients: “Ask Dr. T!” question of the week For example: do not take Echinacea It ​It is important to remember that lupus is a problem …

Please continue to protect yourself as you did before if you have lupus or another systemic autoimmune disease and are vaccinated against COVID-19 QUESTION OF THE DAY: Dr. T. I have lupus. I got both of my Moderna COVID vaccines. …

The aiSLE DX Flare Risk Index test The Lupus Foundation of America, in its continuous quest to advocate for better care of lupus patients, just announced a new laboratory test that can help people who have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)…

A drug made from up to 100,000 healthy volunteers! Intravenous (IV) means getting a medicine delivered into your vein Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG) ​Immune globulins (also called immunoglobulins) are antibodies. A large number of antibodies given in IVIG may help …

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Do not automatically stop hydroxychloroquine if your eye doctor tells you your patient has HCQ-retinopathy! Heed my practical advice below credit: By Wies6014 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, httpscommons.wikimedia.orgwindex.phpcurid=77634880 FEB 2023 UPDATE: Good news from a 2023 study… “…

Ask Dr. T Question about lupus diet and vegetarians Lupus and Vegetarian Diet? Eating a Vegetarian Diet can be Part of an Autoimmune Protocol (AI Protocol) There are studies showing that diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids may reduce lupus …

Which is better for lupus nephritis? ​Here is my answer! Which is better for lupus nephritis? Benlysta or Lupkyinis? … and the winner is… (read below) Updated 6/1/21: I included: – The specifics on the complete renal responses Benlysta vs …

Melatonin For Lupus: What does the Research Show?       (Updated August 2021) Why do people think that melatonin for lupus patients is unsafe? Many people think that melatonin for lupus and other autoimmune diseases is unsafe. I believe …

Revolutionary New Lab Test: Predicts if a lupus patient will have a systemic lupus erythematosus flare! A systemic lupus erythematosus flare can be devastating, interfere with quality of life, and can even cause organ damage. Imagine if they can be …

I just realized that many websites discussing lupus and cancer are outdated, using old research information. So, I decided to write this article with up-to-date information. “Is lupus a type of cancer?” This is not an uncommon question when someone …

  ​A gift for Christmas 2020, since I’m a 90-Day Fiancé fan. Angela wishes me a Merry Christmas and mentions my book. She looks great since her weight loss surgery and she must still be with Michael of Nigeria since …

  Medical Marijuana (Cannabis, Cannabinoids, THC, CBD for Lupus)? Should patients use CBD for lupus? With the increasing popularity and availability of cannabis and CBD, many lupus patients ask, “How about CBD for lupus?” This online chapter of “The …

What is Evusheld? It is a treatment to prevent COVID-19 infections. It is not a vaccine. It is made up of two different monoclonal antibodies.Evusheld reduces COVID-19 infections by 83%.Evusheld begins to wane after about 6 months. Therefore, …

Research Shows More COVID-19 Deaths in Rheumatic Diseases: 10.5% of lupus and rheumatic disease patients died Much higher rate than infected people without rheumatic disease People with lupus and rheumatic diseases are at risk… ​What is the bottom line? What …

Knowing how lupus and vaccines interact is important since infections are one of the top two causes of death and vaccines are instrumental in preventing infections. Most people realize how incredibly painful shingles is. However, many don’t realize just how …

Research Article: Passive transfer of fibromyalgia symptoms from patients to mice Goebel A, Krock E, Gentry C, Israel MR, Jurczak A, Urbina CM, Sandor K, Vastani N, Maurer M, Cuhadar U, Sensi S, Nomura Y, Menezes J, Baharpoor A, Brieskorn …

Some Immunosuppressant Drugs Cause Lower Antibody Levels after COVID Vaccine than do Other Drugs Home » Miscellaneous Lupus Topics A large study was published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases showing antibody levels after COVID vaccine in patients on immunosuppressants. …

Benlysta for children with lupus kidney inflammation (lupus nephritis): FDA-approved on July 26, 2022 This is a monumental breakthrough since children with systemic lupus tend to be sicker than adults. FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) approval of drugs for …

Lupus and Stress Management: The Science of Stress and the Immune System The video below goes over lupus and stress management, while also discussing how stress affects the immune system adversely.The Lupus Foundation of America filed this video of …

Guest post: One method of coping with the struggles of lupus Living and coping with the challenges of lupus can be daunting. It creates challenges that are unpredictable. These challenges can include pain, fatigue, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating, and many …

Should We be Recommending the COVID-19 Vaccine for Lupus Patients?: Yes! What I tell my systemic lupus patients as of 12/18/20: 4:00 PM regarding getting a COVID-19 vaccine for lupus patients The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the …

The Autoimmune Protocol (AI protocol) is another term for the anti-inflammatory diet. The chart below was shown to help patients with the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis. Autoimmune Protocol (AI Protocol) used in 2020 rheumatoid arthritis study above The …

Know your labs when you have lupus Chromatin is our DNA packaged up nice and neat with other proteins such as histone and RNA. It protects our DNA. Photo: at Wikipedia.com from the NIH Chromatin Antibody (Also called Anti-Chromatin Antibody; …

Multiple studies show that stress and trauma increase the risk of developing lupus as well as causing lupus flares. QUESTION: "New research is showing that childhood trauma may contribute to the development of lupus? I read a study where those …

Update March 2023: The journal Lupus reported a study showing that Benlysta is safe and effective to use during pregnancy Update February 2023: Benlysta was FDA-approved to treat lupus nephritis in children as young as 5 years old in July …

Dr. Donald Thomas Answers Lupus Patients’ Questions on His Living With Lupus Blog: The Lupus Encyclopedia Watch this YouTube video — patients’ important questions are answered about living with lupus Dr. Donald Thomas’ Lupus Encyclopedia is a practical “living with …

IF YOU HAVE LUPUS OR ARE A CAREGIVER: Help current research on lupus by sharing your experiences with the Lupus Foundation of America by joining RAY (Research Accelerated by You) ​You can help with an easy online lupus research study!…

Protect yourself from medical mistakes. Lupus Question of the day … It is not uncommon to ask, “can you have lupus with a negative ANA?” Dr. T responds to the question of “can you have lupus with a negative ANA?”:…

What do the following have in common? LupusA drawing by a 3-year-oldJulian LennonFlowers and gardening suppliesAlice in WonderlandPink Floyd They all are woven into the story of the Beatles’ famous song: Lucy in the Sky …

Centers for Disease Control 2022 Recommendations In February 2022, the CDC came out with its new vaccine recommendations. In this post, I will summarize the important changes for people who are immunosuppressed (such as people with systemic lupus erythematosus). …

10 Reasons Not to Get a Flu Shot: The Flu Shot is a Life-Saver for Lupus Patients, Other Autoimmune Disease Patients, and … well… Everyone! It’s that time of year again. Time to get your flu shot! I already got …