Lupus affects around 1.5 million people in the United States alone and can be life-threatening. Of these people, people of color and women in general are the most at risk of developing the disease. However, black women tend to suffer the most severe types of the disease and have the highest death toll compared to everyone else.
Mainly, lupus is considered a painful condition as it causes muscle swelling and extreme lethargy in people. Alongside the swelling, these individuals may gain oddly shaped facial rashes and hair loss that leads to life-threatening conditions such as seizures and kidney failure. Mostly, the disease attacks the nervous system and the brain, destroying the body from the inside.
The Elusive Nature of Lupus Autoimmune Disease
Before any studies were conducted, researchers could only theorize potential risk factors. Mainly, the typical factors of genetics and the chemicals in the environment were the most popular reasons for people to become susceptible to the disease.
In addition to figuring out an official cause, researchers are still working on a cure. Unfortunately, existing treatments don’t provide a cure as they either fail to fight against the disease or have unintended side effects. Due to these side effects, the immune system may become compromised and struggle to fight against other infections.
The Groundbreaking New Study of A Possible Cure
According to researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Northwestern Medicine, they found a possible cure by comparing blood samples in new research. Ultimately, the new study consisted of nineteen patients affected with the most common form of the disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, and nineteen others without it.
With researchers identifying the disease’s cause, their new study uncovered a potential cure that lacks the side effects of current medications and therapies. By testing people affected by the disease, researchers discovered a molecular defect that affects the immune system’s response against disease and other infections. So far, the belief among researchers is that a cure may be found in correcting this molecular defect.
New Study Reveals Cause of Lupus Disease
Ultimately, researchers determined that the defect was controlling how t-cells, a white blood cell variant, reacted to the disease. What’s more? Researchers found that people with lupus had built up too much interferon, a protein which helps their immune system fight infections.
As a result of the build-up, their immune system struggles to produce aryl hydrocarbon receptors or AHR proteins to regulate the body’s response against the infection. Thus, the body’s immune system begins attacking itself. So, by reversing these proteins development process, researchers conclude that the body can heal its wounds instead of causing them.
To accomplish their goal, the researchers put AHR molecules into the blood samples gained by lupus patients resulting in the diseased cells fixing themselves. Comparatively, researchers also discovered that they could manipulate the immune system’s cell production by controlling the AHR flow with molecule activators. Likewise, they could prevent the increase of these infected cells by forcibly limiting the body’s excess interferon production.
Following their groundbreaking study, the researchers aim to expand their efforts into more efficient treatment methods for lupus patients. First, however, they are working eagerly to release these new molecules to the public, in hopes of eradicating this disease once and for all.
This article is intended simply to provide information. It is not intended to replace advice from a physician.
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