New Disease Outcome Tool for Lupus Activity Measurement
Lupus disease complexity and variability makes accurate measurement of disease activity very challenging. Measurement of disease activity in lupus is central to clinical research and clinical trials for classifying and monitoring groups of patients and gauging responses to a new drug. While there are several tools available to measure lupus disease outcomes, researchers continue to work to develop a reliable disease outcome tool to measure lupus. A new study validates a new disease activity measure for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) called the SLE Disease Activity Score (SLE-DAS).
As a leader in supporting the improvement of lupus research and trial results, the Lupus Foundation of America developed REAL™ - Rapid Evaluation of Activity in Lupus - LFA-REAL. The tool is unique from other lupus measures because it incorporates both clinician and patient perspectives. LFA-REAL is currently undergoing revisions and being utilized in a phase III global clinical trial. The Lupus Foundation of America is also working with other researchers and the US Food and Drug Administration to identify tools which can be utilized in lupus trials and ultimately help bring new drugs to market for people with lupus. The study and development of new disease outcome tools is important as they’re used in trials to determine drug efficacy.