“For systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as for lupus nephritis, we have biological drugs available. However, the crux always remains the same: the diagnosis of SLE is still late, it can even arrive after months. Too long, since we have the weapons to counter the pathology and that therapy can be started in a timely manner provided that the diagnosis is really early”. Thus Rosa Pelissero, president of the Italian Les Group, a voluntary support organization for people affected by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), speaking today in Rome at the press conference ‘When lupus attacks the kidney’.
“Among the population there is still a lot of misinformation about the disease – Pelissero complains – even among the doctors themselves, with the exception of rheumatologists and nephrologists. Result? Patients are often forced to make the so-called ‘journeys of hope’, but in this way it takes some time before we arrive at a certain diagnosis. For these reasons, he underlines, “the Italian Les Group finances medical research and multidisciplinary clinics for the treatment of lupus, structures where the patient is taken care of at 360 degrees”. Patients who “have the right to an early classification of the pathology” and to a “precise diagnosis of the involvement of the organism, in order to then be able to have the most appropriate treatment”.
Lupus, recalls the patient spokesperson, “is also called a disease with a thousand faces because it has a whole series of symptoms, it affects various tissues and different organs: skin, joints, lungs, heart and kidneys. Hence the need to manage the patient with a multidisciplinary approach. As our experts say, a lupus that is born only with joint problems does not always remain in this phase, on the contrary it can suddenly develop a more serious problem, so the multidisciplinary aspect is very important. Treatment at centers of excellence, in which rheumatologist and nephrologist work together and with other specialists, represents the most effective way to optimally manage the disease”.
Finally, Pelissero has no doubts about the availability of belimumab, a monoclonal antibody that also responds to the needs of patients with lupus nephritis: “For patients with lupus nephritis, any new therapy is always a positive event, we are happy when new drugs arrive”. Lupus nephritis “is a complication of systemic lupus erythematosus, a condition that changes the patient’s life, therefore having a drug for this disease that does not put patients on dialysis is a huge advantage”.