New Year Rings in New Hope for People with Lupus
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Singer, Selena Gomez, brought lupus awareness to new heights in early 2017 when she shared her compelling story about having a kidney transplant after lupus had ravaged her kidneys. The sharing of her experiences improves public understanding about lupus, which in turn boosts public demand for more lupus research funding. As we reflect back on the past year, one thing is clear – there has been significant progress, not only in awareness, but also in lupus research and advocacy efforts to secure additional research funding for lupus. We are encouraged by the advances of 2017 and look forward to reporting on more successes during 2018 and beyond, with great hope of a better quality of life for all people affected by lupus!  Positive results from six Phase II lupus clinical trials were released during 2017, with several potential new therapies already advancing to late stage trial. Additionally, in December,the Lupus Foundation of America announced it was providing $3.8 million to support the first clinical trial in the United States to evaluate mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) as a treatment for lupus. Congressional Appropriations for Lupus Research and Education Top $13 Million The Lupus Foundation of America worked to increase funding for lupus research and education at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Office of Minority Health and the Department of Defense (DoD). Those efforts led to the creation of a new Lupus Research Program within the DoD, providing an additional $5 million to support critically important lupus research studies. This is a huge success that will expand research efforts on lupus to find the causes of, and cures for, lupus. As we reflect back on the past year, one thing is clear – there has been significant progress, not only in awareness but also in lupus research and advocacy efforts to secure additional research funding for lupus. We are encouraged by the advances of 2017 and look forward to reporting on more successes during 2018 and beyond, with great hope of a better quality of life for all people impacted by lupus! For more success stories from 2017, please read our blog.  |
