(ANSA) – ROME, MAY 10 – 21,000 Italians are affected by Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, a serious and complex autoimmune inflammatory disease that can impact many organs and cause joint pain, skin manifestations, fatigue and fever. Those who suffer from it in a moderate to severe form will now have a new drug at their disposal. On 30 March Aifa approved the reimbursement of anifrolumab as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of this disease whose World Day is celebrated today. Up to 90% of Lupus patients live with constant fatigue and up to 50% develop permanent organ damage, determined by the disease or by the available treatments, which exacerbates the symptoms, and significantly decreases the patients’ quality of life .
“The onset of lupus often occurs at a young age – explains Gian Domenico Sebastiani, president of the Italian Society of Rheumatology -. Out of 10 people affected, 9 are women. At the onset it is characterized by asthenia, fever, tiredness, inappetence.
Symptoms that make diagnosis difficult, while doing it early is essential. Due to its multisystemic nature, capable of involving and affecting all the organs and systems of the body, the identification of the pathology, which also depends on the typicality of the symptoms, can be particularly complex since it can present itself in an extremely heterogeneous way. An early diagnosis is essential to achieve the main therapeutic objective related to the disease, namely that of remission, able to prevent organ damage from occurring. It is also important to keep under control the possible accumulation of the damage, which occurs either due to the disease activity or the drugs taken and which can lead to an unfavorable prognosis, with a consequent worsening of the clinical picture”.
Standard therapy is based on glucocorticoids, hydroxychloroquine and immunosuppressants which, however, are not always able to control the disease and induce remission in all patients. “In this context – says Andrea Doria, president-elect of SIR – the approval of anifrolumab represents an important new pharmacological option: it is the first new treatment indicated for SLE in over 10 years and the only biological drug to have a indication not limited to patients with high-grade disease activity. This monoclonal antibody is able to inhibit cytokines involved in the regulation of inflammatory processes”. “Patients with moderate to severe lupus will now be able to benefit from a treatment capable of reducing disease activity, guaranteeing rapid action and savings in the use of cortisone”, concludes Raffaela Fede, medical director of AstraZeneca Italy. The reduction in the ability to perform normal daily work or domestic activities, transient or permanent, is reported by as many as two thirds of patients with SLE and leads to a worsening of their psychological well-being and their economic conditions.
“Lupus is a chronic pathology that can seriously compromise the quality of life of those affected on various aspects: social, psychological, work and emotional – underlines Rosa Pelissero, President of the Italian LES patient group. “The moment of communication of the diagnosis, which in most cases is associated with the first contact with a pathology of which one had no knowledge, represents a trauma for the patient that is difficult to deal with and is accompanied by a sense of disorientation and fear. The onset of the disease generally occurs at a young age, sometimes even in adolescence, an aspect that can condition the relationship with oneself and with peers, influencing the psychological sphere and impacting the performance of normal daily activities”. (ANSA).
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