Does B-cell Depletion Therapy Work for Refractory Lupus?
Presented at EULAR BARCELONA, SPAIN — June 20, 2007 — Thirty-six percent of patients with refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) remain well after undergoing B-cell depletion therapy (BCDT) without needing further standard immunosuppressive agents, according to a study presented here at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR). Overactive B-cells are commonly found in patients with SLE and reducing the number of B-cells in the system by BCDT has been suggested as a promising therapy for SLE patients who are unresponsive to other treatments. In this study, initiated in 2000, patients with refractory SLE were treated with BCDT (based on rituximab) using a combination protocol with cyclophosphamide and steroids. Of the 33 patients who had a minimum of 6 months follow-up duration at the time of analysis (mean duration 37 months, range 6-79), 12 patients remained well. Median duration of B-cell depletion was 4 months (range 2-15), with two patients remaining de
