What is lupus, the autoimmune disease from which more than 22,000 Argentines suffer

Each May 10 is commemorated around the world, a disease that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs.

This disease, which can present in four different forms (systemic lupus erythematosus, cutaneous lupus, drug-induced and neonatal), affects about 5 million people in the world in some of its forms, and in Argentina, it is estimated that one in 2,000 people suffers from this pathology, which is more common in women than in men.

As explained by Dr Bernardo Pons Estel, Coordinator of Gladel and co-director of Let’s Talk Lupus, this condition it’s a complex, chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system can affect the joints, skin, brain, lungs, kidneys, and blood vessels, causing widespread inflammation and tissue damage in affected organs. Although there are different types of lupus, such as cutaneous, medicated, or neonatal, the most common is Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

“His symptoms include fatigue, mood swings, depression, anxiety, joint pain or swelling, rash and fever with different levels of severity. Some are similar to rheumatoid arthritis; for this reason, the diagnosis is sometimes confusing, ”said Estel.

And he added: “Although the reality is different in each Latin American country, in most of them face-to-face consultations have declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly due to the great fear infection, since patients with lupus have an impaired immune system due to the disease itself, while they can be treated with immunosuppressive drugs. However, there has been an increase in teleconsultations and a great need to know about current health issues ”. Although the cause of lupus is unknown, there are treatments that can reduce organ and joint damage and relieve pain and inflammation, which can lead to pain and inflammation. allows you to have a better quality of life.

So it happened to Gabriela Barzola, who has suffered from the disease for many years and assures that since she was diagnosed and treatment started she has maintained a normal life. “When I was diagnosed with SLE – because I was initially diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis – my treatment consisted of corticosteroids, antimalarials and immunosuppressants. Years later, the doctors decided to opt for a biopharmaceutical treatment which made it possible to minimize the corticosteroid and significantly improve my quality of life, ”he said.

In addition, he reported that during the COVID-19 pandemic “he maintains the same care we all need to have, using the mask every time I go out, washing my hands all the time, putting on alcohol gel , by disinfecting the merchandise, and trying to keep as little contact as possible with others. Being a patient at risk, currently I am not going to work, but I do it virtually, I only go out for necessary things, not for any reason. I am now awaiting the vaccination which affects the risk group in which I would be included ”.

Although lupus can affect anyone, it is more common in women. In fact, decade 10 adults with the disease, only one is a man. Symptoms and diagnosis of the disease most often occur between the ages of 15 and 44, and family members of people with lupus have a 5% to 13% chance of developing the disease.

“There is a lot of ignorance about lupus, not only by the general population, but also by doctors. Therefore, education using user-friendly content suitable for public education is essential for patients to learn to live with this disease. Through medical care by professionals experienced in the disease, lupus can be controlled and patients can achieve a good quality of life“, Held Pons Estel.

Raising awareness of lupus is essential so that more people can consult their doctor, carry out the corresponding studies, diagnose the disease early and thus begin the treatment that allows them to lead a normal life.

Treatments for lupus

Although lupus will not be cured, luckily there are drug treatments available that help control the progression of the disease and reduce symptoms. However, some people resist conventional treatments, in which case it is necessary to treat the disease and its symptoms with new options. In this direction, the use of mesenchymal stem cells is the latest scientific advance to treat this disease that affects millions of people around the world. Hence the importance of storing the umbilical cord of newborns (where these cells are found), for the treatment of this type of disease and many others.

“Mesenchymal stem cells, which can be obtained from the bone marrow (blood factory), adipose or adipose tissue, and umbilical cord tissue, among other tissues, act as immunomodulators and protectors, stopping inflammatory processes. , among other cell therapies. Keep in mind: these cells, like blood stem cells, do not have the problems associated with the need for compatibility. Due to their properties, they have been recognized as a promising tool for the treatment of inflammatory disorders and various autoimmune diseases such as lupus, which is why countless clinical trials are underway in this regard, ”commented the doctor. Claudio Dufour, Medical Director of BioCells.

In this sense, in recent years, various studies and investigations have been carried out to determine the degree of effectiveness of these cells in the treatment of lupus. One of these studies is that carried out by the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of the Faculty of Medicine of Nanjing University (China), entitled “Cell therapy with mesenchymal cells induces an increase in FLT3L dendritic cells and CDc1 + in patients with SLE ”, the results of which were reported in the journal Nature in 2019.

From what has been observed, mesenchymal cells produce a protein called FLT3L (gene that gives rise to a protein involved in the formation and multiplication of new blood cells) which helps to increase the amount of therogenic dendritic cells (CDc1 +), which are responsible for regulating the activity of other cells of the immune system, in the blood of people with SLE. This finding is not minor, because in the case of patients with SLE, the FLT3L and CDc1 + proteins are clearly reduced.

“In this research, 21 patients with SLE who did not respond to the most conventional treatments were studied and received an intravenous infusion of umbilical cord mesenchymal cells. As a result, patients reported an increase in the number of CDc1 + cells in their blood; in addition, changes in disease activity index and improvement in symptoms were observed, which were maintained for up to six months after treatment. There was even evidence of improved kidney function in patients with lupus nephritis, which is a common complication in patients with SLE, ”explained the specialist.

More recently, in 2020, subject specialists carried out the meta-analysis “Clinical efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stem cells for systemic lupus erythematosus”, with the aim of evaluating the levels of efficacy and safety of cell-based treatments. mesenchymal for this autoimmune disease. With this analysis, which consisted of a review of 10 surveys conducted between 2000 and 2019 by different groups of experts, it was concluded that the use of mesenchymal stem cells could be a promising cellular therapeutic agent for people with systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as for other diseases based on impaired immunity.

It was observed that patients with this type of lupus who received treatment with mesenchymal stem cells had lower levels of proteinuria (pathological appearance of proteins in the urine) between three and six months, compared to a control group. ; at the same time, less disease activity was observed at two and six months and less side effects.

“The big challenge is to advance clinical research on umbilical cord mesenchymal cells to have more and more information on how they can generate positive changes in the immune system of people with lupus to reduce symptoms. and thus improve the quality of life of people. However, further studies with longer term endpoints and larger patient samples need to be designed and conducted to identify further robust, patient-centered outcomes in the future, ”Dufour added.

To learn more about lupus, you can access @conociendomilupus on Instagram and Facebook, an initiative of the GSK Lab to help spread, educate and raise awareness about the disease.

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