Study Shows Cancer Drug Can Help Treat Lupus Patients

As technology has progressed, medical professionals have been better able to identify more of the diseases and life threatening conditions that may plague society. As these discoveries are made, whether it be through time spent on the floor of a hospital or out in the field conducting research, each respective condition has had a form of medication that enables patients to experience less severe symptoms and an overall better quality of life.

From time to time, in the search for a solution for a certain ailment, it is used instead for what it's not originally intended for. Such may be the case for a cancer drug approved a few decades ago. It has been proposed that a certain characteristic within the treatment may have the ability to restore balance to the hyperactive immune systems of patients experiencing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

The study, conducted by Jing He, entitled, “Low-dose interleukin-2 treatment selectively modulates CD4⁺ T cell subsets in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus” was published last year in the journal Nature Medicine.  Interleukin-2e, also known as IL-2, was originally a drug approved to be used on cancer patients, but it has since then become a not-so-common use for cancer treatment cases.  Researchers from the study did, however, see a possible use for patients diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus. This hypotheses formed by the researchers was due to the fact that Interleukin-2 could very well cater to the very downfall caused by the lupus erythematosus symptoms.

The drug was specifically thought to help with the fact that patients diagnosed with lupus erythematosus often have lower levels of the immune molecule known as cytokine IL-2.  This characteristic of the patients served as an early way to recognize the kick start of production for different kinds of T-cells, as well as the imbalance between these cells  and the cells responsible for controlling inflammation.

Although the characteristic mentioned above for patients had already undergone various studies and research efforts in the early 1990s with the Interleukin-2e drug, scientists have only recently started to explore the opportunities for the application of the treatment for patients suffering from severe immune conditions.  In order to test the theory as to how well the IL-2 would affect lupus erythematosus patients, low doses of the treatment were given to patients with the condition.  The ultimate goal of the study was to gauge how well the patients responded when given the low dosage of the drug.

With the study, researchers obtained a total of 38 patients who reported that they had not responded well to the standard, more traditional drugs used for lupus treatment.  The patients in the experiment were given low doses of Interleukin-2e for 3 months.  Before results had come back, researchers were to use what was known as the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Responder Index, otherwise known as the SLE index.  The assessment method was introduced roughly 5 years ago, and it served as a more standardized approach to recognizing the severity of the condition, using various “points” within the test to do this.

What is systemic lupus erythematosus?

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a type of autoimmune disease.  Autoimmune diseases take place whenever the immune system attacks the body, due to the to an error where it recognizes it as something hazardous or foreign. In a perfectly normal, functioning immune system, the function that takes place consists of the system’s ability to ward off hazardous “intruders”, such as dangerous infections and bacteria. This function that occurs within the body enables it to function in a healthy manner, and ultimately serves as the line of defense by which the body is able to fight off sickness. Various immune diseases with similar characteristics use the name “lupus”, yet systemic lupus erythematosus is the most common among these different types.

Statistics show that roughly 1.5 million Americans have reported their respective diagnosis of some form of lupus, according to the Lupus Foundation of America, although the statistic is said to be higher.  This is due in part to the wide variety of undiagnosed conditions in the United States.  Often times patients may confuse their symptoms with another medical condition, or it can very well be possible that the disease was initially misdiagnosed, as the symptoms can mirror that of other serious medical conditions.

The symptoms that are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus with a range from a variety of severe and physical cues. These will often include severe fatigue, joint pain, joint swelling, headaches, rashes present on the cheeks and nose (known as a “butterfly rash”), hair loss, anemia, blood clotting within the body, as well as one of the more unique symptoms of the disease, which includes the occurrence of the patient’s fingers turning white or blue.  This is also often paired with a tingling sensation, and is brought about when the patient is cold, a symptom known as Raynaud’s phenomenon.  As alluded to earlier, the symptoms seen in systemic lupus erythematosus are often associated with a plethora of other diseases, often making it difficult to diagnose.  Due to this, it is most important for patients with similar symptoms to go to their doctor, so as to do receive a legitimate and thorough diagnosis.

Although systemic lupus erythematosus has seen an improvement in the way medical professionals diagnose the condition, there has yet to be a specific cause of the disease identified.  This being said, extensive research has yielded some results that suggest a variety of factors that may lead to the unfortunate disease, but none have ultimately been conclusive.  In terms of whether or not the disease can be passed down from one generation to the next (genetics), the disease has been said to not run in families.  However, some researchers and medical professionals suggest that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus or other forms of lupus are likely to have family members who have had various types of autoimmune diseases.

The future of systemic lupus erythematosus

The future of systemic lupus erythematosus is based in some very fundamental factors surrounding the disease, and can often include how the disease can be triggered.  For parents or loved ones with the condition, it is important to understand these various triggers, which may include: ultraviolet rays, other specific medical conditions, viruses within the body, physical or mental stress, as well as trauma.  Understanding these potential triggers will ultimately enable the community associated with systemic lupus erythematosus to understand potential opportunities for lessening the severity of symptoms that come with the disease. 

In addition to the triggers of the disease, it is also necessary to understand how exactly the disease can be diagnosed.  This can often include physical exams to check for the typical symptoms of lupus, which include rashes due to sun sensitivity, mouth or nose ulcers, arthritis, hair loss or thinning, as well as signs of cardiac or lung involvement, such as murmurs, or irregular heartbeats.  Although there is not at this time one test that can serve as a primary diagnosis for systemic lupus erythematosus, various types can will often include a urinalysis, a chest X-ray, and forms of bloods tests.

The study previously mentioned serves as a key potential insight to alternative ways to relieve symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus.  The findings of the research may very well be the important catalyst towards the ability to slow the potential severe symptoms that come with such a condition.  This research, among other studies, proves that there is a constant and promising effort in order to conquer the unfortunate symptoms associated with systemic lupus erythematosus.