Remission in systemic lupus erythematosus: durable remission is rare

Abstract

Our results provide further insights into the frequency and duration of remission in SLE and call attention to the major role of baseline activity and baseline treatment in predicting remission.

Prevalence of remission and its effect on damage and quality of life in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

“…Remission of SLE can be achieved with (remission on treatment) (prednisolone ≤5 mg/day or other immunosuppressive drugs) or without immunosuppressive medications (except HCQ). Using this definition, 11.5% of a cohort of 2745 SLE patients had remission on treatment for at least 1 year and 0.6% had sustained remission for 5 years or more 13. Another multicentre lupus registry cohort reported that 7.6% and 5.4%, respectively, of their 1228 patients had remission on therapy and off therapy for 1 year or more 22.…”

New Perspectives in Rheumatology: May You Live in Interesting Times: Challenges and Opportunities in Lupus Research

“…Despite the approval and rather extensive clinical use of belimumab, additional questions about the efficacy and best utilization of anti–B cell agents are also raised by the negative or inconsistent results that have been obtained with other antagonists of tumor necrosis factor superfamily receptors that regulate B cell tolerance, activation, and survival, including atacicept (previously known as TACI‐Ig; a fusion protein that blocks B lymphocyte stimulator [BLyS] and APRIL) and tabalumab (a human IgG4 monoclonal antibody that binds soluble and membrane‐bound BLyS) . All the while, there continues to be a great need for better treatments, as indicated by evidence that even in the 2000s the risk of end‐stage renal disease may be >40% over 15 years in patients with class IV lupus nephritis , and by the rarity of sustained disease remission, with disease remaining in remission for 3 years in only 15% of patients and for >10 years in <4% of patients .…”

Remission in SLE: the duration depends on multiple factors, including the definition

“…We read with great interest the article from Wilhelm et al 1 published on Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. We agree with the authors that remission is an emerging concept in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and that it is very important to find out a definition of remission heralding the best outcome for clinical practice and clinical trials.…”