There is no set definition or timeframe for what counts as lupus remission. It’s no wonder lupus remission is a confusing topic!

This month, Dr. Ronald van Vollenhoven, director of Amsterdam Rheumatology Center in the Netherlands, shares his expertise about lupus remission and inactive lupus and what it means for lupus warriors.

Learn more about lupus remission on our National Resource Center on Lupus

In this episode of The Expert Series, we explore the topic of Step Therapy and access to medications. LFA’s Health Education Specialist and Manager Ashley Holden will explain what Step Therapy is and how it can affect people with lupus.

Related resources

Inflammation from lupus and treatments can affect a person’s bone density, which makes it easier for someone with lupus to break a bone. Dr. Ummara Shah, associate professor in the department of medicine at University of Rochester, discusses why it’s important for people with lupus to care about their bone health.

Dr. Shah also leads clinical trials in lupus and is involved in education of lupus patients at the University of Rochester.

More resources on how to manage bone health:

You may have heard the terms health disparities or social determinants of health being used in conversation, but weren’t quite sure how they apply to people with lupus. If so, this is your time to listen.

We’re talking with LFA’s Research Director Dr. Joy Buie about health disparities and social determinants of health and how it can affect people with lupus.

Here is some important information

La discusión de este episodio se impartió en español

Lupe y Lety, especialistas en educación para la salud de la Fundación de Lupus de América (LFA, por sus siglas en inglés), están de vuelta en un nuevo episodio respondiendo preguntas frecuentes sobre el lupus sometidas al equipo de educación para la salud.

Para enviar su propia pregunta a los especialistas en educación de la salud, llena este formulario aquí

Para leer más de las respuestas del blog de las especialistas en educación de la salud hag clic en el enlace, en inglés o en español

Para obtener más información sobre el lupus, visite el NRCL (NRCL en español)

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This episode discussion is conducted in Spanish

Lupus Foundation of America’s Health Education Specialists, Lupe and Lety, are back in a new episode answering frequently asked lupus questions sent to the health education team.

To submit your own question to Health Education Specialists, fill out this form here

To read more from Answers from the Health Education Specialists blog, in English or en Espanol

To learn more about lupus, visit the NRCL (NRCL en Espanol)

In this episode, we focus on eyes and how lupus can affect vision. Dr. Michelle Petri, founder and director of Johns Hopkins Lupus Center, discusses the importance of maintaining eye health when you have lupus, and what to take notice of depending on prescribed medications.

To learn more about lupus and the eyes, review a slideshow here

Related:

To see how lupus affects other parts of the body, check out our resources here

Here’s how medications used to treat lupus can affect you, read more here

Clinical trials make new and better treatments for lupus possible. In this episode of The Expert Series, we sit down and talk with Stephanie Slan, director of IMPACT+ (Improving Minority Participation and Awareness in Clinical Trials) at the Lupus Foundation of America about clinical trial participation. Stephanie also debunks some myths about clinical trials might keep people from wanting to participate.

It’s important for people with lupus to consider participating in these trials to further the advancement of lupus medicines and treatment. This episode breaks down eligibility criteria, what happens during a clinical trial, and what happens with your information after a trial.

Listen to learn more

To learn more about clinical trials, read more about participating in clinical trials here or about frequently asked questions here

If you are interested in participating in research, visit: Lupus.org/RAY

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The Expert Series is happy to have Dr. Bonnie Bermas on our episode about fertility and reproductive health.

Dr. Bermas is an internal medicine professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center focusing on rheumatology disorders. She was the Clinical Director of the Lupus Center and co-director of the Program in pregnancy and rheumatic diseases at Brigham and Women’s  and Harvard Medical School.

Her research interests include pregnancy and rheumatic diseases, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), and rheumatic immune checkpoint inhibitor adverse events.

Below are resources from the National Resource Center on Lupus related to this episode

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In this month’s episode, we talk about self-care/self-management with Dr. May Choi. Dr. Choi is a rheumatologist, clinician scientist, and Assistant Professor at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.

She has a background and training that include Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology at Harvard University and a lupus fellowship. Dr. Choi is also the Associate Director of MitogenDx Laboratory for novel autoantibody and biomarker testing for autoimmune diseases and the Associate Director of Research for the University of Calgary Lupus Centre of Excellence.

Resources

Here is a resource and worksheet to help find support near you. If you want a list of program and services the Lupus Foundation of America provides, you can find information here.

Read about lupus and depression, and a coping with lupus strategies worksheet.

Depending on where you are in your lupus journey, consider signing up for Strategies to Embracing Living with Lupus Fearlessly, or SELF. This program is self-paced program and can guide someone to reach milestones that can help improve quality of life.

In this month’s episode, we speak with Dr. Jane Salmon about Antiphospholipid Syndrome, or APS. Dr. Salmon is a Collette Kean Research Professor and the director of the Lupus and APS Center of Excellence at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Dr. Salmon shares her insight on APS how it can affect people with lupus, treatments, and more. Tune in to learn more.

For more information on APS, read here

Learn more about lupus and pregnancy

Learn more on how smoking can affect people with lupus