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Media Contact: Aline McKenzie

This news release is available on our World Wide Web home page at

http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/home/news/index.html

214-648-3404

aline.mckenzie@utsouthwestern.edu

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Woman with fake boobs has real health worries

A 40-year-old wants to know if breast implants ruin mammogram results. ... I had breast implants six years ago, and now I’m worried. ...
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12991972/

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Atoning for Environmentalism

... by Palfreman include "Breast Implants on Trial" (2/27/96), which attacked reports of health problems caused by Dow’s silicone breast implants, and "Currents ...

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1389
Look for Dow in this article.Gulf War vets

Gigi-Karen

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US Scientists Back Autism Link to MMR Vaccine

http://www.rense.com/general71/mmr.htm

he Mass Poisoning Of Humanity - Abject Human Stupidity

http://www.rense.com/general68/maess.htm

Lupus Now Research Update e-Newsletter

Lupus Now Research Update An e-Newsletter of the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.

ISSUE # 5 MAY 2006

Medical Director, Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.

[See the attached file]

First National Study Shows Need to Monitor Lupus Pregnancies More Closely

Eliza F. Chakravarty, Lorene Nelson, and Eswar Krishnan, Arthritis & Rheumatism 54;3:899-907

Researchers compared pregnancy outcomes in women with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to pregnancy outcomes in women with diabetes and in healthy women. Women with lupus, RA, and diabetes had significantly increased rates of high blood pressure complications compared with the general healthy group, as well as longer hospital stays and significantly higher risk of needing a cesarean section (surgical delivery of the baby). More>

[See the attached file]

Lupus Vasculitis Underlies Skin Denervation

Ming-Tsung Tseng, Song-Chou Hsieh, Chia-Tung Shun, Kuang-Lun Lee, Chun-Liang Pan, Whei-Min Lin, Yea-Hui Lin, Chia-Li Yu, and Sung-Tsang Hsieh, Brain 2006;129(4):977-985

To better understand why some lupus patients develop a loss of nerves in the skin, the researchers of this study measured density of nerve fibers within the skin and looked at the relationship of nerve density to lupus activity, the sensitivity of nerves to touch, and the electric activity associated with the use of different parts of the body. The authors concluded that blood vessel inflammation in the skin (cutaneous vasculitis) may lead to the loss of nerves in the skin in lupus patients, and this might lead to dysfunction in the perception of heat and cold. More>

[See the attached file]

Study Suggests Cyclophosphamide May Be More Effective in Treating CNS Lupus Compared to Methylprednisolone

V.F. Trevisani, A.A. Castro, J.F. Neves Neto, A.N. Atallah, Cochrane Database System Review, 2006, April 19;(2) CD002265

The authors of this paper conducted a review of the literature to assess the safety and effectiveness of cyclophosphamide compared to methylprednisolone to treat neuropsychiatric lupus (lupus that affects the central nervous system). They identified one study involving thirty two patients which were randomly divided into two groups. One group was treated with cyclophosphamide by IV (intravenous or through a vein) and the other group was treated with steroids (methylprednisolone by IV). The results of this very small study suggest that cyclophosphamide may improve symptoms of central nervous system lupus more than methylprednisolone. More>

[See the attached file]

Study Suggests Association of anti-C1q Antibody May Affect Lupus Flares and Risk of Kidney Disease

Marta Mosca, Daniele Chimenti, Federico Pratesi, Chiara Baldini, Consuelo Anzilotti, Stefano Bombardieri, and Paola Migliorini, Journal of Rheumatology, 2006;33:695-7

Researchers studied blood samples of lupus patients to determine the frequency of different kinds of autoantibodies and their relationship to lupus disease activity. Anti-alpha-enolase, anti-C1q, and anti-dsDNA antibodies were found in 21%, 62%, and 63% of the lupus patients, respectively. Anti-C1q antibodies seemed to be associated with low white blood cell counts, levels of inflammatory proteins (complement proteins), and active kidney disease. These findings suggest there might be an association of anti-C1q antibodies with lupus flares and with active kidney disease. More>

[See the attached file]

Open-Label Study of Epratuzumab Shows Promise for Lupus

Thomas Dörner, Joerg Kaufmann, William A. Wegener, Nick Teoh, David M. Goldenberg, and Gerd R. Burmester

Arthritis Research & Therapy, 2006;8:R74

Epratuzumab, under development by Immunomedics, Inc., is a treatment that interferes with B cells, a type of white blood cell that is important in lupus. This small, preliminary study tested epratuzumab in 14 patients with moderately active lupus. Almost all patients experienced improvements in disease activity after 6, 10 and 18 weeks of treatment, and 3 patients had no disease activity at all by 18 weeks. In this study, patients with mild to moderate active lupus tolerated epratuzumab well and showed some preliminary evidence of clinical improvement after the first dose. Further studies of epratuzumab are now underway. More>

[See the attached file]

Leflunomide (Arava®) May Be Effective for Lupus Nephritis

S. Tam, E.K. Li, C-K. Wong, C.W.K. Lam, W-C. Li and C-C. Szeto, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 2006;65:417-418

The safety and effectiveness of the Aventis Pharmaceuticals drug leflunomide (Arava®) for lupus kidney disease (nephritis) was tested in 17 lupus patients. These patients were chosen because they could not use standard treatments. Despite the study's limitations, the researchers concluded that leflunomide is a safe and possibly effective treatment for some patients with lupus kidney disease. It might be considered as an alternative for patients who do not respond to or cannot tolerate conventional treatments. More>

[See the attached file]

LFA Urges More Funds for Lupus Research in Testimony before Senate Panel

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee which funds medical research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conducted a hearing on May 19 to show the hardship that cuts in NIH funding would cause to public health. Ranking Member Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) also participated. More>

[See the attached file]

8th International Congress on Lupus and Related Conditions Scheduled for May 2007

The 8th International Congress on Lupus and Related Conditions to be held from May 16-20, 2007 in Shanghai, China. The scientific program will cover all topics on the latest advances in basic research and clinical management of lupus and related conditions. The Lupus Foundation of America will organize a parallel patient program and a series of related activities. The International Congress will coincide with the fourth annual observance of World Lupus Day, scheduled for May 17, 2007. A symbolic walk will demonstrate global unity on the need for improved patient healthcare services, increased research into the causes of and a cure for lupus, enhanced physician diagnosis and treatment of lupus, and better epidemiological data on lupus worldwide. More>

[See the attached file]

Lupus Now®: State of the Art from the Experts

The Lupus Foundation of America series of public and professional education programs on the "State of the Art Approaches from Lupus Experts," continues this fall in Los Angeles, California, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Rochester, New York. The programs aim to educate physicians, individuals with lupus, and their families on the latest advances in the management and treatment of lupus. More>

[See the attached file]

Annual LFA Awards Gala Raises $1.5 million for Research and Education Programs

The LFA paid tribute to those who have provided outstanding leadership in the fight against lupus during the annual Awards Gala on May 10. U.S. Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-AL) and his wife, Dr. Annette Shelby, ASPREVA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and Marjorie S. Susman, of Chicago, were recognized for their efforts on behalf of the 1.5 million Americans with lupus. More>