Active clinical trials for "Lupus Erythematosus, Discoid"

Discoid lupus erythematosus is a chronic inflammatory skin condition and may lead to itch, skin pain, open sores, scarring, disfigurement and hair loss. Studies have shown that IL-17A may play a major role in inflammation and in the pathogenesis of discoid lupus. Treatment of discoid lupus sometimes is a challenge and unresponsive to current therapies. Secukinumab, an anti-IL-17A monoclonal antibody has been safe and effective in the treatment of psoriasis. The investigators propose to study the efficacy and safety of secukinumab in discoid lupus.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of Raptiva (efalizumab) in the treatment of discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE). Discoid lupus erythematosus is a chronic disorder, which may lead to permanent and progressive loss of hair. Lupus is a condition of chronic inflammation cause by an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses which occur when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. The immune system is a complex system within the body that is designed to fight infectious agents, for example, bacteria, and other foreign invaders. One of the mechanisms that the immune system uses to fight infections is the production of antibodies. Patients with lupus produce abnormal antibodies in their blood that target tissues within their own body rather than foreign infectious agents. Lupus can cause disease of the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints, and nervous system. When only the skin is involved, the condition is called discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE). Raptiva (efalizumab) is a humanized immunoglobulin(a protein extract from blood which fights off infection-sometimes called "antibody"), which targets the immune cells that are activated in inflammation. Raptiva has been approved for use in the management of psoriasis at doses of 1mg/kg, but is not approved for the treatment of DLE.

This trial evaluates the therapeutic effect of Elidel (pimecrolimus) in comparison to the corresponding vehicle in patients with chronic discoid lupus erythematosus (dLE) or subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (scLE).

forty DLE lesions from patients will be recruited in the study. The lesions on one side of the body were block-randomized into the treatment group and the other side served as a control. The patients can continue their systemic treatments and the PDL is designed to be used as an adjunctive treatment. Treatments with the PDL will be delivered in the treatment group every 4 weeks for 4 consecutive months while the lesions in the control group received a sham. The patients will be evaluated at baseline (week 0), week 4, 8, 12, and at follow-up period of 4, 12 weeks after the final treatment (week 16, 24). Erythema index (EI), Texture index (TI) will be obtained and digital photographs will be taken and modified Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index (mCLASI) will be assessed in every visit. The digital photographs will later be evaluated by 3-blinded dermatologists. Moreover, side effects and patients' satisfaction score will also be recorded.

A 20 week study to assess the safety and efficacy of etanercept(Enbrel®)for the treatment of Discoid Lupus Erythematosus

Efficacy and Safety of Belimumab in a Subgroup of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Patients with Higher Disease Activity (anti-dsDNA positive and low complement): A Pooled Analysis of the HGS1006-C1056 (BLISS-52) and HGS1006-C1057 (BLISS-76) Studies

The purpose of this study is to characterize the clinical and molecular profiles of patients with cutaneous lupus.

The main objectives of the study are: To determine if RNA recovery from tape harvesting allows for the identification of a disease gene signature (e.g., interferon [IFN] signature for lupus) or other biomarkers that may differentiate affected from normal or unaffected skin; To determine if the lupus gene signature is differentially expressed in the epidermis from active discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) or subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) lesions when compared with unaffected skin from the same participants and from the skin of healthy volunteers (HVs); To determine if the atopic dermatitis (AD) gene signature is differentially expressed in the epidermis from active AD lesions when compared with unaffected skin from the same participants and from the skin of HVs; and To correlate the levels of transcripts of targeted genes in the skin by tape harvesting with those obtained from the blood.

The purpose of this study is to obtain skin, blood, and urine samples from patients with active cutaneous lupus lesions and from healthy participants.

The purpose of this research study is to see if a specific protein that we are interested in is involved in scarring hair loss. If these proteins are involved, further genetic work may also better define the disease as well as future treatment options.