00:00What is lupus erythematosus?
00:04Lupus erythematosus is a systemic, chronic autoimmune disease
00:10that can affect various organs of the human body.
00:14There are basically two types,
00:16a systemic form and a form that only affects the cuticle.
00:21The systemic form can occur with various symptoms.
00:24More often than not, this derives from studies on large-scale cases
00:28that we have conducted and coordinated personally by San Camillo.
00:32The disease occurs with osteoarticular symptoms,
00:35then classically with joint pain linked to arthritis.
00:39Then it can occur with cutaneous symptoms,
00:41then cutaneous manifestations, cutaneous eruptions of various types
00:45and with hematological symptoms,
00:47reduction of white blood cells, red blood cells or blisters.
00:52These are the most common forms of lupus erythematosus,
00:55but there are also less common forms of lupus erythematosus
00:59that are very impactful on the patient.
01:01For example, lupus erythematosus with renal failure, lupus nephritis,
01:05is found in about 25% of patients affected by this pathology.
01:09Then there are other organs of interest,
01:13such as the lung, the cardiovascular system, the central nervous system.
01:17So it is a very complex, very varied disease,
01:20both from a clinical point of view
01:22and from a point of view of the serological manifestations,
01:26that is, of the auto-antibodies that we can find in the serum of our patients.
01:31The diagnosis then goes through a careful clinical examination of the patient,
01:36therefore careful anamnesis, careful objective examination,
01:39and then through the execution of laboratory tests
01:42strongly suggestive of the disease.
01:45It is a disease that can have various types of course.
01:48The most frequent course that we can observe
01:51is the so-called relapsing-remitting,
01:55in which, at the phase of disease activity,
01:59periods of equinescence of the disease itself alternate.
02:03And then, depending on the type of organs involved and the severity of the commitment,
02:09it can be subdivided into mild forms,
02:13or into serious or severe forms,
02:16when vital organs such as the heart, the kidney, the lung,
02:23the blood vessels and the central nervous system are interested.
02:28Therapy with JAK inhibitors refers to small molecules,
02:33chemically synthesized,
02:35which are taken in an oral way
02:38and which are able to inhibit the production of various substances
02:44called cytokines, which have a pro-inflammatory activity,
02:48that is, they promote inflammation.
02:51So what do they differ from the drugs we use conventionally for lupus?
02:56First of all, from the fact that they affect the pathogenetic mechanisms
03:00targeted to the disease,
03:02so they can interfere with the production of these cytokines
03:06that have a pejorative activity on the disease itself.
03:10Another point is that they are taken in an oral way,
03:14and therefore facilitate the supply of the drug
03:17and greater adherence of the patient to the pharmacological treatment
03:22given the simplicity of the intake.
03:24Another point is that the favorable effect arises quickly,
03:29and just as quickly if we suspend the drug,
03:33for example if we need it because the patient goes against an adverse event,
03:37just as quickly the effect of the drug itself is reduced.
03:42Therapy with JAK inhibitors is already available at our center
03:47in the form of a clinical trial,
03:50that is, a clinical study in double blind, randomized, against placebo,
03:55which will then be used to lead,
03:57if the effects of the study are favorable,
04:00to the registration of the drug
04:02and therefore to its availability for all patients affected by this serious disease.
04:07Results will be available soon,
04:10and in any case there are all the scientific evidence of studies
04:14of phase 1 and phase 2 prior to this,
04:17which testify that the drug can be very effective
04:20and can be an additional weapon in the treatment of patients
04:24affected by systemic erythematosus lupus.
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