Like many of you, I have a hard time keeping up with what’s going on in lupus research.

In order to make that a little easier, I’ve added a sidebar widget that provides updates from the Lupus Research Institute. If you move your mouse over a particular news item, you will be able to see a short snippet of the article. If it seems like something you’re interested in reading, you can click the link and read the actual article.

I spent a little time on the Lupus Research Institute website yesterday, reading some comments made by Dr. Bevra Hahn regarding the new lupus drug Benlysta:

These new results show that administration of Benlysta for one year, in addition to standard treatments for SLE, resulted in substantial improvement in almost 60% of people, compared to only 46% in the group that received placebo plus standard care; the improvement included better quality of life.

I had the good fortune to meet Dr. Hahn a few years ago at a health conference where she was featured as a guest speaker. I was really impressed with her. I have nothing but great things to say about the medical staff at UCLA. It is a very long drive from Fresno to Los Angeles, but it is worth it to get such great medical care. Jenny’s rheumatologist is fabulous.

I hope the sidebar widget makes it easier to stay up with the latest lupus news. I don’t want to overwhelm the site with too much information, but it’s good to stay informed.