CALENDAR:
Save the date: Dine Out for Lupus - May 14, 2013.
Simply dine out at a participating restaurant (more information coming soon), and your restaurant will donate part of the proceeds to LFNC and lupus research.
December 18
2012 Lupus Treatment and Research Update (mini-conference), Women's Building, San Francisco
Click here to see our full calendar of events and add them to your own calendar here!
Benlysta Webcast/Teleconference Series
Presented by Human Genome Sciences/GlaxoSmithKline
Nov 28
8pm ET
Tune in from home!
A different lupus-related topic will be addressed each month such as Benlysta and the infusion process, how to strengthen communications with your doctors, tips for managing lupus, and information about financial assistance.
To register for these free events, call 1-877-423-6597
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35 years. $35,000. Help us get there!
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Information contained in this e-Newsletter should not be considered a substitute for professional diagnosis, treatment or management of S.L.E. and symptoms by a physician.
Missed a previous issue of this e-Newsletter?
You can now view our ARCHIVES.
Editor: Spandan Chakrabarti
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LFNC is an active partner in
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Connect with us on
via "Lupus Online"
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LFNC's Social Media Program is funded through a generous grant from THE HENRY L. GUENTHER FOUNDATION GEORGE H. SANDY FOUNDATION GLAXOSMITHKLINE |
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You are receiving this newsletter because you have subscribed or have participated in our programs or events. We respect your time and privacy. If you prefer not to continue receiving the newsletter, you can click on the "safe unsubscribe" button below. We hope, however, that you will opt to remain on our newsletter list for important information and life-saving tips that you or someone you know may benefit from now or in the future.
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Biomarker Pinpoints Risk for Lupus Flare
 A new study by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland finds that the presence of a high level of the biomarker BLyS (B-lymphocyte stimulator) in a lupus patient is predictive of a higher risk of flare-ups.
Over the course of a year, 26.3% of patients with the lowest baseline quartile of BLyS (below 0.996 ng/mL) had a moderate-to-severe disease flare, compared with 45.3% of those in the highest quartile, with levels at 2 ng/mL or higher, according to Michelle A. Petri, MD, of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues.
"This finding is proof of concept that flare is likely with high BLyS levels," Petri toldMedPage Today during a poster session at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
You can read more about Dr. Petri's study here. The most immediate potential benefit of studies like these is that with further research, physicians may be able to use simple tests to predict flare-ups in their patients. Patients, in turn, can be prepared for them and take the best precautions to avoid those flare-ups. Further reaching benefits may include developments of treatments and medications that lower the levels of this biomarker, thus reducing the risk of flare-ups.
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Study Zeroes in on How Infections Can Trigger Autoimmune Diseases
 Australian scientists have released research finding that zeroes in on how the body's response to infections can trigger an autoimmune conditions that target specific organs like the heart or the nervous system.
Tyani Chan and Robert Brink from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research studied mice to investigate what could prompt an infection-driven autoimmune attack.
They were focused on the antibody-creating B cells that play a crucial role in the body's response to disease.
When the body is fending off an infection, B cells can mutate their antibody genes randomly until they produce one that 'sticks' to the invading antigen. This process occurs within specialised environments in the lymph system known as 'germinal centres'.
Dr Chan and Associate Professor Brink demonstrated that when antigen is abundant and available throughout the body, rogue autoantibody-generating B cells are deleted and autoimmunity avoided.
But when target antigen is located only in a tissue or organ remote from the germinal centre, B cells capable of reacting against both antigen and 'self' are able to escape the germinal centre and produce autoantibodies.
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Your 2013 Calendar - with Lupus Facts - are Here! Get Yours Today!
12 Lupus Facts. 12 Adorable Puppies. 12 Months. All of them have come together to make this One Awesome Calendar! Our 2013 desk calendar includes a Lupus Fact every month, along with a picture of one of our Mascot Contest contestant puppies from our Run & Walk this year. 12 adorable four-legged contestants entered, and each of them is featured on one month.
We just got the calendars into the office, and you can order yours right now. Click here to order yours today. Each calendar is only $15, including shipping. |
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Join Us at Our Winter Mini-Conference
Maria Dall'Era, M.D., will be headlining our conference. Dr. Dall'Era is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Rheumatology Clinical Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco. She is also the Director of the UCSF Lupus Clinic, UCSF Center Director of the Lupus Clinical Trials Consortium (LCTC), and Principal Investigator of the California Lupus Surveillance Project (CLSP). Her talk will focus on the latest treatment strategies and research studies on lupus and will share significant updates from the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology to be held in Washington, D.C. in November.
Date and Time:
Tuesday, December 18, 2012, 11 am to 4 pm.
Venue:
The Women's Building, Auditorium
3543 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Registration fee:
$50 for nurses desiring CEU credits (5 CEU credits)
$30 for non-credit attendees
Current LFNC members are entitled to $10 off registration fee. Box lunch included.
No one will be turned away for inability to pay.
Please click here to register. You may also register by mail or fax by completing this form, or by calling us at 408-954-8600.
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Grand Prize: A Mercedes-Benz C300. Plus Two iPads for Early Birds.
This is a great way to help out the Lupus Foundation and support our work in patient services, education and research, you can start buying tickets right away!
Ticket prices are changing a bit this year: you will be able to buy each ticket for $75, three (3) tickets for $200 and five (5) for $300. In addition to the Mercedes, participants who buy their tickets early will also have the chance to win up to two iPads! Early bird drawings will be held on December 14 and March 15.
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