United States: A new study says that lupus might be curable because of a problem in the immune system. Lupus fortunately is an autoimmune disease where the body’s defense system attacks itself instead of just fighting off germs.
AHR Malfunction Linked to Lupus
Researchers found that the problem comes from a part of the immune system called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). This part helps the body respond to things like pollution and bacteria. When it doesn’t work right, it causes the immune system to make too many cells that attack the body instead of protecting it. The good news is that fixing this problem might help cure lupus.
By fully activating this immune system response, We can actually reduce the number of these disease-causing cells and response to environmental pollutants, bacteria and toxins.
Current Treatments vs. New Approach
As reported in U.S. News, This is not the sufficient activation of this pathway and managed by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) which results in the overproduction of the immune cells concluded by some researcher and the important role played by the associate professor Dr. Jaehyuk Choi who has the expertise in dermatology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
“If these effects are durable, this may be a potential cure,” Choi added in a Northwestern news release.
This Lupus actually occurs when the immune system turns on the body and causing systemic inflammation that can cause result in life-threatening damage to organs like the kidneys, heart and brain.
Exciting News in Lupus Research
Existing treatments have focused on suppressing the immune system, which left patients vulnerable to dangerous infections.
Quoted in U.S News, “Up until this point, all therapy for lupus is a blunt instrument. It’s broad immunosuppression,” Choi said. “By identifying a cause for this disease, we have found a potential cure that will not have the side effects of current therapies.”
Just to check whether this drive the lupus, the researchers tested activation of AHR drugs on the blood samples taken from the lupus infected patients.
And this treatment seemed to reprogram and the lupus can cause the cells into the cells that might instead promote wound healing, researchers reported in a journal Nature.